HELP NEEDED - Stunted Growth, Turning Brown

Hello,

I germinated 5 seeds in a paper towel. After they sprouted, I planted them into 1" rockwool cubes. I want them to be outdoor in soil eventually. They all sprouted successfully, and were growing well for a few days. The first round leaves are open, and the first set of jagged leaves started coming out. This is where growth has stopped for about 2 days now. The plant leaves are turning a light brown, yellow at first.

I found some nutrient deficiency pictures that looked somewhat similar, so I started adding 1/3 strength FoxFarm nutrients the last time I added some water.

I only have 4 CFL's on the five plants right now. I may have had them a little close for a day or two. I moved them away a few inches, and got a fan blowing on the lights so the temperature is a lot better now, but they may have been burned earlier. I've been using rain-water all along. I've been testing the pH all along, getting it about 5.7, which I have read is correct for rockwool. Last time I watered, I upped the pH to about 6, because I thought this might help with the nutrients releasing or whatever.

One problem might be that I have the cubes sitting on a plate in my bedroom, in an open environment. They aren't in a tray or anything, and they didn't come with a wrapping on the outside, so maybe they're getting too dry on the outside?

I found spider webs on the plants one day, panicked (thinking it was spider mites), and sprayed them with a tiny bit of Dawn soap in water. Then a few minutes later I sprayed them off with just plain water. I think growth was already severely slowed before this whole incident. I think the webs were just from a random spider in the house.

Right now, I'm feeling pretty hopeless. Since the plants are so young, is there any chance of a recovery? And if so, what is the best course of action?

Thank you

It is needed

Okay I got a camera that looks a little better. I added the pictures to the first post. Boy that one in the straw sure looks doomed. I put the straw on today because the plant had fallen over overnight. The stem still looks green and healthy though.

Too damp. Having them out in the open also gives them lots of surface area for evaporation. I like to wrap my cubes in plastic wrap to prevent evaporation, which also keeps them a lot warmer.

I also see signs of calcium deficiency, which makes sense considering it's in rockwool. Just transplant them to soil already!

Ah okay, thank you. So I should let the cubes dry out until they're just about completely dry before watering right? I think I did water at least a couple hours early once or twice.

I'll transplant them early tomorrow. There is some Miracle Grow potting soil laying around. I have some perlite I'm going to mix in. I'm using FoxFarm Big Bloom and Grow Big. Is there a source of calcium in there anywhere? Maybe the deficiency is because I'm using rainwater not tap water?

Should I start easing them into the sun the same day as the transplant or give them a little while under CFL's?

I'm about to transplant them now. I'm planning on keeping them under 4 CFL's for about 24 hours then I'm going to start hardening them off to get them outside soon. Does this sound okay? And any other ideas? I really don't want these to die.

How far away are your lights? Did they touch the bulb for awhile?

Try transplanting them, hopefully they will be fine.

The lights are now about 4 or 5 inches from the top of the plants. Is this too far? I got scared that I was burning them. They never touched the bulb, but I do think they were a little too close and hot for a day or two.