The whole "tops on, tops off" question depends on your climate and where your jugs are located and how soon you plant out the seedlings. I am in zone 7 and have been WSing for many years. I work full time and do not have the ability to "baby" my jugs. I have had hundreds of jugs most years and while I might crack open the tape put a little stick to keep the opening circulating more air for those jugs that are my very last to be planted (and therefore waiting in hotter weather) for the most part I am moving seedlings straight from a closed (except for the spout) jug to the garden bed in May and and early June. I do not ever "saw the tops off" the jugs as I save the hinged jugs and reuse from year to year. If you take the tops off, the question of "do I run out and put tops on at night so the seedlings don't get cold" only comes into play if you are receiving freezing temperatures. If the seeds have germinated (and they are perennial seeds)they have annouced that they are "ready" to be in the world! No pampering required. That's what makes WSing so much easier. Annuals may need some "topping" in below 32 weather, which is why I wait to make these jugs till this risk of freezing is over for my area - again I do not have time to re-top. So some of your decisions will be based on your lifestyle as well, and how many jugs you have out there.Pampering 10 might be an option, pampering 300 will stress you out!!!!

You know I've read the OP's statements several times and never did she say how long the dog was crated. I've gone on record as stating that I crate my dogs and i will continue to crate my dogs when I am not available to supervise them. However, 10-13 hours is entirely too long. I know many trainers and many competitors at top levels and none suggest caging up a dog all the time. The dogs I'm involved with come from field lines and positively define high energy. They would very quicly go competely bonkers if not given an appropriate outlet for their energy. If I am to be gone more than 4 hours, I make arrangements for a responsible party to take care of the dogs. Having seen personally or heard of too many "accidents" with dogs who had been completely "trustworthy" in the past, I feel it is in the best interests of the dogs to safely confine them when I am not home. I do not believe in doggy doors either and I will not come home to a dead dog or a dog in need of immediate surgery because of my own pride in my training techniques. Perhaps if it were not the hot button issue of crating, this philosophy wouldn't be under attack? For example, I train my dogs not to counter-surf. I can prepare dinner and know that the 12 course dinner I'm preparing will not disappear behind my back. I expect to still see Tom Turkey on the counter if I leave the room to answer the phone. Tom had best be unmolested when I'm done showering. However, I'm not silly enough to insist that a turkey left alone on the counter for 4 hours would just get up and walk away on its own while 4 loyal dogs lay innocently with heads resting on crossed paws. I trust my training, but dogs are dogs. They are animals and to them, 5 minutes of joyfully devouring a turkey is worth a punctured esophagus. I cannot reason with them after the fact anymore than I could reason with a 3 year old. I didn't leave my 3 year old children home alone either and no matter how much we want to think that dogs are children, they don't ever progress past the mentality of a 3 year old. Could i leave my 10 year old lab out while I'm gone? Probably. She sleeps in her crate while i'm gone and I'm )almost) sure that she would sleep on the floor while I'm gone. But I don't want to find out I was wrong at the expense of my dog's life, especially when they ENJOY their crates and LIKE being in a safe place. I was given charge over these animals - I will care for them and not leave them to their own devices. Part of my responsible dog ownership is ensuring that their minds and bodies are stimulated enough to desire rest and re-charging when I'm not available. To this end, I play with each dog individually for 30 minutes each morning - hard play equivalent to the most strenuous aerobics class. We then take an 30 minute walk and brush up on obedience skills. Breakfast is served while I shower and prepare for the day, followed by potty time and a bit more fetching. Crate time is generally from 11-1. After errands, the dogs go back out to enjoy the fresh air and relieve themselves if needed. Before starting dinner for the human family, the dogs get another 30 minute aerobic workout. They lounge inside (or out if I'm grilling) until after dinner (theirs and mine) Two are competing and they get another obedience session in the evening, followed by a family walk. Before it gets dark, I take the one dog who is competing in field trials out for some bird work. Everyone then gets to watch TV before a final pit stop and retiring to various sleeping spots. I've owned dogs for 40 years now. Always multiples and always highly trained. I've lost plenty, but it was always due to old age or disease and never to something preventable like a car accident or foreign object ingestion. This is due to careful supervision and superior training and I'd like to keep my record and my conscience clean.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I don't think I was able to remove all of it, it was too tangled with healthy roots and I didn't want to damage them. It's not mushy, necessarily, it just had a lot of give to it when I touched it, like it wasn't as firm as it should have been. It was wet to the touch, not dry, if that makes a difference. Do you think I should try to separate the two stalks in case it spreads to the healthy one, or would that damage the roots too much?

Yes, get all of the old soil off the roots. It may be difficult, looks like it is peat that is hydrophobic. It gets as hard as a brick. Pick it with a bamboo skewer or chopstick, shake off whatever you can. You may have to soak it in a warm water, hydrophobic peat is very difficult to re-wet. Once you get the soil off, see what condition the roots are. Some will break off with soil, some may be totally dry & dead. Cut all damaged off. Let it sit on some kitchen towels to soak off any extra moisture (Iif any, after washing). You need to get potting mix that doesn't have so much peat in it. Simple & easy is to get some Cacti&Succulent soil, and a bag of perlite. Mix these 2 in 50/50 ratio. You could use pumice instead if available. Pot the plant in this mix, if you had to cut some roots off do not water for a day or 2 to let cuts to callus/heal. Do not overpot. Maybe use a terracotta pot that is bit heavier if you worry about plant tipping. You may have to secure plant until the roots establish themselves - using few big rocks around stem may be enough. After couple of days, move it into best light you have. What is your general location or growing zone? Let plant recuperate for a while. After, I would do some serious pruning...