Webb's Wonderful
The crunch of a shop bought iceberg with actual flavour, if you can give it space, water and a slug plan.
Webb's Wonderful is the crisphead most Irish gardeners mean when they say iceberg, and it has been in catalogues since the end of the nineteenth century for good reason. It makes a big, pale, tightly wrapped heart with the crunch that loose leaf types cannot match, and it stands in the ground longer without bolting than a butterhead does. The trade-off is that it takes twelve to fourteen weeks, needs real space, and that dense low heart is a five star slug hotel.
Quick facts
- Botanical name
- Lactuca sativa
- Type
- Heirloom
- Category
- Crisphead, iceberg type
- Difficulty
- Easy, good first crop
- Hardiness
- Hardy, takes Irish frost
- In Ireland
- Cloche or fleece helps
- Germination
- 6 to 12 days at 10 to 20C
- Sowing depth
- 6mm
- Spacing
- 25cm apart, 30cm between rows
- Height
- 25cm
- Position
- Full sun
- Containers
- Grows well in pots
- Sowing to harvest
- 6 to 14 weeks
- Harvest
- June to October
Sowing and harvest calendar for Webb's Wonderful
Months shaded below are the reliable windows for Irish conditions.
Where to buy Webb's Wonderful lettuce seeds in Ireland
Irish suppliers that stock this, so postage stays domestic and seed arrives in time to sow. These are plain links, not paid placements.
Garden centres and mixed retailers
- Mr Middleton Irish Familiar named varieties, posted from Dublin Mail order arm of a long established Mary Street shop, carries the familiar named varieties the organic specialists skip. Visit Mr Middleton , Co. Dublin
- Woodie's Usually the cheapest packet, click and collect nationwide Dublin headquartered chain, part of Grafton Group. Cheapest per packet and the only nationwide click and collect option. Visit Woodie's
- Johnstown Garden Centre Irish Widest branded range, best ordered in spring Third generation family business near Naas with the widest branded range, though popular varieties sell out by midsummer. Visit Johnstown Garden Centre , Co. Kildare
Why it suits Ireland
Crispheads hold their condition in the ground longer than butterheads, which suits a climate where the salad you planned for Thursday may have to wait until the rain stops on Sunday. Webb’s is noticeably slower to run to seed than a butterhead in a warm spell, and Irish warm spells are rarely long enough to push it over.
Our cool nights also help the head firm up properly. Crispheads grown in genuinely hot climates often refuse to heart, and Ireland gives them exactly the steady mild conditions they prefer. Water is the only input it really demands, and that is not usually the constraint here.
The honest warning is slugs. A crisphead sits low with a dense wrapped heart and overlapping outer leaves resting on damp soil, which is close to a purpose built slug shelter. Plant it into a clean bed, clear the edges, and check under the outer leaves before you carry a head into the kitchen.
Growing notes
Sow in modules from March under cover or direct outdoors from April, and plant out 30 to 35cm apart each way. That spacing is not optional; this is a big plant and crowding is the usual reason it fails to heart.
Water generously and consistently through the whole growing period, especially from the point the heart starts to form. Aim the water at the soil rather than over the plant, because water sitting in the outer leaves in a damp autumn invites grey mould.
Cut whole at the base once the heart feels firm to a gentle squeeze. It will hold in reasonable condition for a couple of weeks after that, longer than most lettuce, but the flavour is best in the first week.
Stop sowing by early July. Webb’s needs its full twelve to fourteen weeks and a late sowing runs out of light before it makes a heart.
Common questions
Is Webb's Wonderful the same as an iceberg lettuce?
It is the same class of lettuce, a crisphead, but not the same variety as the commercial icebergs sold in supermarkets. Webb's makes a slightly looser, larger, more open head with a frilly outer leaf and considerably more flavour than the shop version. If you want the crunch without the blandness, this is the one to grow.
How long does Webb's Wonderful take to grow?
Twelve to fourteen weeks from sowing to a firm heart, which is roughly twice as long as a mini butterhead. A March sowing under cover comes in around late June, and a June sowing comes in around September. That long occupation of the bed is the main cost of growing it, so it is worth reserving the space rather than trying to squeeze it into a gap.
Why did my Webb's Wonderful not make a heart?
Almost always crowding or dryness. It needs a full 30 to 35cm each way, and anything closer produces a leafy plant that never firms up. Irregular watering is the other cause, and it can also produce a brown papery scorch on the inner leaf margins, called tip burn, which is a calcium delivery problem rather than a disease. Water deeply and regularly rather than lightly and often.
More lettuces to consider
Tom Thumb
Heirloom / Mini butterhead
The best lettuce for a container, a small plot or a first sowing with children, and it is ready faster than anything else.
Growing notes and stockistsSalad Bowl
AGMOpen pollinated / Loose leaf, cut and come again
The most forgiving lettuce there is, and the one that turns a single sowing into six weeks of picking rather than ten days.
Growing notes and stockistsWinter Density
AGMOpen pollinated / Cos, winter hardy
The variety that puts lettuce on the table in December and January, and the reason an August sowing is worth remembering.
Growing notes and stockists