Iceberg is perhaps the most popular variety of lettuce in grocery stores and restaurants around the world. While not the most flavorful, it is nevertheless prized for its texture, lending its crispness to salads, sandwiches, and anything else that might need a little extra crunch. But what if you don’t want the regular old grocery store head of lettuce?
Can you grow your own Iceberg lettuce plant? You sure can! Keep reading to learn how.
What is Iceberg Lettuce?
Iceberg lettuce gained widespread popularity in the 1920s,
when it was grown in the Salinas Valley of California and then shipped around
the U.S. by train on ice, which is what earned it its name. Since then it’s
become one of if not the most popular lettuce, gracing restaurants and dinner
tables all over with its crunchy texture.
Iceberg lettuce is so popular, in fact, that it’s gotten
something of a bad rap in recent years, called out for its ubiquity and lack of
flavor and forgone for its more complex and vibrant cousins. But Iceberg has
its own place and, like almost anything, if you grow it in your own garden,
you’ll find it a lot more satisfying than if you buy it in the produce aisle.
Iceberg Lettuce Plant Info
Iceberg is a head
lettuce, meaning it grows in a ball rather than leafy form, and it is known
for its comparatively small, densely packed heads. The outer leaves are bright
green in color, while the inner leaves and heart are light green to yellow and
sometimes even white.
The center of the head is the sweetest part, though the
entire Iceberg lettuce plant has a very mild flavor, making it ideal as a
backdrop to more potent salad and sandwich ingredients.
How to Grow Iceberg Lettuce
Growing Iceberg lettuce is similar to growing most any other
kind
of lettuce. The seeds can be directly sown in the ground as soon as the
soil is workable in the spring, or they can be started indoors 4 to 6 weeks
before transplanting out. This method is best if you are planting a fall crop,
as the seeds may not germinate outdoors in the heat of midsummer.
Exact number days to maturity varies, and Iceberg lettuce
plants may take somewhere between 55 and 90 days to be ready
for harvest. Like most lettuce, Iceberg has a tendency
to bolt quickly in hot weather, so it’s recommended to plant spring crops
as early as possible. To harvest, remove the entire head once it’s large and
feels tightly packed. The outer leaves are edible, but not as pleasant to eat
as the sweet inner leaves.
