Well, you can't have too much leaves on them, I'd say. Sounds like it might be too exposed to air and wind. The best storage method I've used for potatoes is the simple hole in the ground, covered with leaves and a piece of wood. They come out even in late spring completely fine.

To each his/her own, but beware of false logic..... Small potatoes are not necessarily "more likely produced by weaker, less fit plants more likely to have been infected with viruses and other potato diseases," as proposed by mike_marietta above. Small potatoes are the ones formed last and have not had time to grow large by the time the potatoes are dug and harvested. It's just like with so many other vegetables/fruits; the ones formed close to harvest, won't be as large/ripe/mature as the ones formed earlier. The old timers I grew up around knew their potatoes and how to grow them. They had grown potatoes for generations. They chose the smaller (1 to 1.5-inch dia) potatoes for seed, and I guess the reason was that the smaller ones have more eyes and, therefore, produced higher yields. And perhaps they believed that the small potatoes were less likely to be diseased due to their young age. Sometimes with store/market-bought potatoes, the largest potatoes have diseased parts, whereas the smaller potatoes from the same harvest/bin don't have diseased parts. On the issue of storing potatoes in the ground, I'd be concerned about mice and other vermin eating and fouling the potatoes with excrement. On the issue of wrapping seed potatoes, it sounds like a very good idea.

Zone SS 23-24, CA. I can't answer your question - but it sounds reasonable enough. The vines seem to put out roots very easily. However, as long as you probably harvested them, I'd put a few into jars (toothpick method) anyway, just to be sure. The vines seem to like putting down new roots all along the long stems, so why not see how many rootlets you can salvage too. I dug quite a few of mine today, and was pleasantly surprised. I didn't pull the vines completely, because they are perennial here - so they tell me. I plan to see how long I can continue to dig a few at a time, while allowing the vines to keep on producing. This is my first experience with them, and I really like the idea. The tubers are now curing on the back porch, along with a couple of Hubbard squashes, as they tell me curing makes them taste better. Bejay

Oh BOY, yes, you can save those ornamentals for next year. My chartreuse vines were quite prolific last year, covering everything in sight, and even trying to cross the street. Where they touched the ground, they put out new roots. They even climbed up my rose bushes. After the vines withered, I discovered some huge tubers, one as big and round as a grapefruit, with purple flesh. I did not try to eat one. I left my taters in the ground, but of course Mobile had a fairly mild winter. I was not sure they would regrow anyway, but indeed they did. This year they did the same thing, and my neighbors pulled them out of my roses while we were gone. They love heat, and they love water. I planted them thinking they'd shade the soil and keep the other plants' roots cooler. But they grew like KUDZU almost. I even planted some for a neighbor, to cover an old stump in her yard. This winter, I will keep some of the vines indoors like a philodendron and see what happens. :)