Place your planted lettuce in the sun again. Picking iceberg lettuce at the right time ensures full head formation and optimum flavor. You should plan to plant the lettuce as soon as the ground is workable. Heading lettuces are more difficult to grow in the garden. Cutting every other plant at the ground will give remaining plants more space for growth. This article is a how-to guide for growing iceberg. How to Grow Lettuce Indoors. Choose an area with soil that drains well and gets plenty of sun. For instance, iceberg lettuce requires that you cut it at the root but varieties of romaine or red leaf lettuce can be harvested by gently pulling away the leaves or using scissors and cutting them about 3 inches from the root base. For years I struggled with how and when to grow lettuce. With a passive solar greenhouse -- read no electrical heating required -- you can grow head lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) through the winter even in frost-prone areas. Give lettuce fertile, well-drained, moist soil with plenty of rich organic matter and a pH between 6.0 and 7.0. Iceberg Lettuce Nutritional Facts. Growing lettuce in containers makes it easy to weed, control disease and harvest seeds. Start seedlings indoors in late winter, six to eight weeks before the average date of the last spring frost. How to Plant Lettuce. How to Grow. Are you a romaine lover, or more of an iceberg person? An option for growing lettuce in the summer could mean arranging your garden to accommodate it — for instance, plant lettuce next to taller plants … Plant your lettuce in potting soil. Some other general guidelines when collecting the entire plant: Leaf lettuce can be cut as soon as it is large enough to use, usually in 50 to 60 days from planting. How to Grow Iceberg Lettuce: Iceberg lettuce seeds can be sowed directly into the garden, or started indoors. How far apart to plant lettuce depends on the type of lettuce you’re planting. Iceberg lettuce and other varieties of this vegetable are usually grown in areas where the temperature does not exceed 60 degrees Fahrenheit. For the best results, plant head lettuce in your fall garden. Mature iceberg lettuce grows to about one foot in diameter. Mix it with other taller plants, such as tomatoes in the spring, or grow a mix of different varieties for a living salad bowl. Growing lettuce is an easy and inexpensive way to put fresh gourmet salad greens on the table. How to Grow. Use a soil tiller or a spade to break up the soil and remove rocks, sticks and roots from the area. Crisphead lettuce, or head for short, is the lettuce we know as Iceberg. Cover seeds very lightly with a fine starter soil. How to Grow Lettuce in a Pot - Picking a Lettuce Variety Choose Romaine lettuce if you have a smaller container. Iceberg is a variety of lettuce with crisp leaves that grow in a spherical head resembling cabbage. Plant the seeds in shallow seed boxes or "flats." After about 1 week or when the leaves have reached about 3 inches above the cut stem, it should be ready for planting. Spray the fertilizer mainly near the soil, avoiding the lettuce leaves to prevent burning them. Make sure the soil covers the roots but not the old leaves. As a cool-season crop, lettuce grows well with the cool, moist weather available in spring and fall. Romaine and Butterhead lettuce can be harvested in about 60 to 70 days from planting. While it’s known for being low in nutrients, there’s nothing quite like the crunch of iceberg lettuce. Whether you've run out of space in your garden or you want to grow lettuce year round, you can grow lettuce plants quickly and easily indoors. Put the tiny seedlings in a sunny spot and keep them watered. Keep lettuce plants well watered during dry periods to promote rapid, uninterrupted growth. Growing lettuce in containers requires the right type of pot and planting medium. Opt for loose-leaf lettuce if you live in a warmer climate. If the temperature goes any higher, lettuce plants may grow prematurely. Mature iceberg lettuce grows to about one foot in diameter. Use a soil tiller or a spade to break up the soil and remove rocks, sticks and roots from the area. Plant iceberg lettuce if you have a lot of time to let your lettuce grow. This can help strengthen the walls of the lettuce leaves, reducing the chance of transplant shock or stunted growth. Planting Lettuce in Container. Lettuce is shallow-rooted, so avoid disturbing the soil around the plants when weeding. You should plan to plant the lettuce as soon as the ground is workable. To successfully grow iceberg lettuce, you will need to acclimate the seedlings to the outside elements. There are many iceberg lettuce varieties to choose from, with the Lakeland, Miluna, and the Pablo lettuce varieties noted as easy growers. Leaf lettuce can be harvested continually throughout the growing season until the plant starts to bolt or otherwise expires, as long as you harvest only the outer leaves each time and leave enough inner leaves, and the inner growing center, for the plant to continually make new leaves and make food for itself.