Walking onions multiply from the bottom up. When you harvest a clump in early spring, divide it into individual plants and put at least one back to keep your patch going, or more to increase production for next year. When the patch starts to send out the "flowering" stalk the onions culinary window is closing for the season as the stalk is tough and hollow. This is a good time to dig all of what's left and dehydrate the onions by slicing the white parts of the plant into 1/4" thick rounds. The top sets can be harvested later in the summer when they are mature and getting "papery", before they bend over and start walking across your garden. You can share with other gardeners (we originally got our start from a friend about 42 years ago). They can be stored for potting up over the winter and "forcing" for some fresh green onion cuttings in the kitchen (using a shallow pot fill the surface with bulbils, like you would do for hyacinth or daffy bulbs). When we had sheep, we used to harvest all the top sets and
feed them out as treats over the winter (they would even keep in a
bucket in our open-sided shed and still be able to sprout the next spring). You can eat the top sets if you're desparate
enough to peel them. What a terrific, reliable crop that comes back year after year, even in Minnesota. Even if the plant is mowed off, or grazed down by wildlife, it should recover enough to give you a harvest next year, as long as it doesn't get mowed again.
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