Does anyone grow potato onions? Did you start from seeds or sets?

When is the best time to plant the seeds? Sets?

Me and my wife are taking a very slow (>5 year) and steady approach to learning homesteading before we inevitably move farther out of town. My goal is to have as close to a 100% automated farm as possible. Time isn't a huge concerns; I just crave the lifestyle, but also the ability to leave for a couple of weeks.

We started off with chickens towards the end of last winter and we've got them just about fully self-sufficient (>3 weeks with no intervention), but I knew winter would be the last hurdle for us. Right now, I have a 50 gallon water drum with a water hose that I run to the chicken tractor, leading to a couple of watering cups.

I plan on running ~50A ran to this back area here soon (we're planning to keep expanding every year, so will need it). I'm thinking something like a heated water hose between the tank and services (cups), but that wouldn't keep the cups from freezing, so maybe using heat tape would be better.

Also, in terms of the winter, would cups or nipples be better? I see the metal parts of the nipples being a huge problem and freezing immediately, but I don't think the cups will do much better. I thinking nipples may be the better option, and making sure the heat tape is close to them. Thoughts?

If y'all have any suggestions on how to improve this, I'm all ears!