Things were much easier years ago when I planted the sprouted (sometimes unsprouted) tubers directly into the soil. The down side was that during rainy springs I'd lose a dozen or more to rot. That's when I began starting them inside in flat trays of soil. After they developed the tiny hair roots that allowed them to absorb more moisture, they were planted and losses to rot were reduced. Four or five years ago, I started potting them a month or so before planting time thinking this would lead to earlier blooming. And it did! Problem was not having enough sunny windows and the chore of carrying 200+ plants in 24" planters outside on sunny days for several weeks gets to be too much. By mid May, it's usually warm enough to leave them out all night. I think I'll try direct sowing a few this year.
Melissa, the first time I stored tubers, I used saw dust. By the time I checked them, they were like leather. I could have used them to re-sole my shoes. LOL Never again!
