Avocado Plant

I've always wanted to sprout a plant from an avocado seed. And I've spent years trying. (I kinda recall my mom doing this when I was younger but not sure if she had any success)

Previously I used the toothpick suspended seed in a glass of water method and it never got very far. Finally I read somewhere that you could just put a pit in a plastic baggie with a wet paper towel, set it in a dark place and forget about it. I put a few* per bag (5 total) and it worked! All five sprouted (I brought them out of the dark after about three months) and now over a year later (still in the plastic bag roots and all and two feet tall) I am ready to plant them in dirt. I am very nervous about this because I planted one in dirt a few months ago and it died. I even used special potting soil for avocado. So far I have planted two and will see how they fare before I plant the others. Maybe they just prefer to grow hydroponically. They are supposed to make great-looking houseplants so I hope they survive.

* I used avocados straight off of a tree in CA this time instead of those from the store. I don't know if there is a difference because they haven't been trucked and refrigerated or if organic would be superior to conventional.