Normal. As the onion matures, the neck softens and eventually all but disappears when the bulb is full grown.

100 or so years ago, the idea of planting the onions was to eat as many as possible while keeping a few for planting back. Even in my memory, cooking onions didn't have to be bulbs. If you could get by with having the green color, you used the tops. If the color were particular, you used the bottom half. I doubt if many gardeners then would ever have some massive tangles that we "collectors" create! Even then, I do think that every stand of walking onions should be cleared out every second or third year so that the soil can be enriched and bulbs started back again with proper spacing. Dave's Garden info is right and wrong. If it's just the actual Catawissa bulbs involved, it is correct to plant them back ASAP since they will not go into a long dormant stage. They will want to grow right away. The topset bulbils are quite the opposite in that they will store for a long time and can dry down to almost nothing and quickly come to life. This information DOES NOT apply to Heritage Sweet walking onions. Their topsets will not store very long. Only their largest seem to be able to last more than a few months and then rapidly go downhill from there. Martin

I think you are on the right track with the manure. You can't underestimate soil structure's importance for underground crops. If it were me, I'd want to dump the manure on top, water it occasionally for a few weeks, then till it under (maybe with some sand, leaf mold, blood or fish meal, and any home compost). If problems continue, I'd do a soil test.

That's an Ellie Topp recipe. I use a decent balsamic but not the super-expensive stuff because it's just not necessary. Look on the neck for a CABM seal. In English that's the Consortium for the Protection of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena. A burgundy seal indicates 3 year or less of aging and is perfectly suitable for a canned onion relish. For a drizzling balsamic look for a gold and white seal. That's a balsamic aged more than three years; it will be proportionately more expensive. Trader Joe's is good value. Archer Farms and Lucini get good reviews. I haven't tasted Costco's but usually anything with their Kirkland brand is pretty decent. For red wine it depends on how assertive you want it to be. I tend to prefer Syrah or Merlot rather than Cabernet because they are softer. Oregon and Washington have a plethora of competitively-priced red wines and red wine blends. It's hard to go wrong with any of them. You could probably sub a good red wine vinegar but you'd have to up the sugar to compensate and I don't know that would yield the best results. It would depend a lot on the vinegar. Carol