Depends on the "potting soil" -- the cheap stuff that is basically peat sludge from the bottom of an old swamp is pretty bad -- heavy, crusts, and tends to allow the growth of organisms that cause dampening off and other seedling disease problems. If its a high quality mix that is well aerated and sterile, it should be fine. How well you take care of them AFTER germination will make a big difference, too -- adequate light, proper watering, good air flow will help prevent problems.

Lettuce is pretty easy to grow, so odds are you'll be ok. But, if not, lettuce seed is cheap, so you can probably start a new batch in the right kind of mix if need be.

Agree that it all depends on what you mean by 'potting soil'. Soil-less potting mix works best. Also no fertilizer is required or wanted until AFTER the seedlings develop their true leaves. Fertilizers can easily burn tiny seedlings.

You'll find much more info on all this over on the Growing from Seed forum here. It has some great introductory FAQs for those new to the process.

Dave

I looked more closely at the bag and it says it's a mixture of pete moss and compost. It says its flower bed mix for plants---but what are these things that are gonna sprout veggies? They're plants, right? Directions say to put anywhere that you have plants. Learning a new trade stinks sometimes :) In an effort to save myself time, energy and headache, I'll wait and see how the lettuce does before I plant anything else. I got my tomatoes, cucumbers and broccoli yesterday. Thanks for the input :)

Some products are simply not suitable for use in a container. Without being surrounded by all of the complex physical and chemical activities goings on in an outdoor (garden) soil, they often turn to something like cement or muck. Terrific for the garden, but terrible for containers. Also, any packaged product that is especially labeled for garden use had been done so for good reason. The manufacturer knows that it just won't work in a pot.

Compost is almost always one of those ingredients that can cause problems when used as a potting soil. It simply turns into a terrible prisoner when under confinement.

To take a step backwards and address your other question, it's a terrific idea to start iceburg in containers. For one, you can space the young plants properly in the garden when it's time to plant! Iceburg shouldn't be crowded.

Germination flats or pots should be kept warm until the seeds have sprouted, then the plants prefer to be grown on in much cooler temperatures. For germination, soil temperature is what matters, not air temp.

Good luck to you, and I hope you take a look into the Growing From Seed Forum here in the GardenWeb.

I start my seeds in peat cups filled with ground coconut hulls. I have great success using this medium. Once they grow 2 true leaves i use an eye dropper and start giving the plants a few drops of seaweed and hydrolyzed fish emulsion.

Thank you all for your comments. I think I have gotten my iceburg seeds off to a bad start. Good thing I have 3000 of those lil buggers :) Going to the local nursery today to get some really good seed starter. I've been doing alot of research both here and on the net about which ones are recommended. Thanks again!!!