# What should I do with these onion starts?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-these-onion-starts/625880>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [June 21, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-these-onion-starts/625880 "2012-06-21T19:52:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![kaiwik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaiwik/32/3978_2.png) [@kaiwik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaiwik)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-these-onion-starts/625880/1 "2012-06-21T19:52:40Z")

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Last year was my first in the new house, and I was overly ambitious when it came to getting started with the gardens. After I was essentially done I found that I had forgotten about some Walla Walla onion starts, and I just plugged them into a pot with the intention to get them into the ground, which never happened. Autumn came and the onion bulbs became soft, and I simply left them in the pot over the winter, assuming that they would die. When spring arrived they threw up new green tops and the bulbs are firm again. If I plant them in the ground now, will they grow into onions, or go to seed?

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**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\
**Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-these-onion-starts/625880/2 "2012-06-22T02:54:18Z")

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Onions are biennial, so you will probably get really tall purple flowers. On the upside, they are pretty!

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**Author:** ![kaiwik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaiwik/32/3978_2.png) [@kaiwik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaiwik)\
**Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-these-onion-starts/625880/3 "2012-06-22T03:50:40Z")

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Thanks, that’s what I was thinking. I guess I’ll put them in with the flowers and try again with new onion sets.