So I've been lurking rather exclusively in the grow section in the past few months and finally decided to give it a whirl. I was using a 5 gal bucket with Fox Farm Ocean Forest as a base. The bagseed in each attempt I used was of decent quality and would consistently grow healthy for the first 4 days after breaching the soil. The problem: The plants always die within Day 4-10. I water them with H20 only because I know that the nutes in the soil will suffice for about 2 weeks. Initially the bottom most leaves begin to yellow and then brown and this would travel up the plant. I assumed this was heat stress or due to me frying the leaves. My pH is always within 5.9-6.4. I changed how I watered by modding a water bottle with a straw so I would not wet the leaves. I was using the 24/0 lighting schedule with 2 23W CFL 5500k bulbs. The temperature inside was always a cool 78. Do you have any idea what the hell I'm doing wrong?
it certainly isnt helping. If your PH is that low in soil, nutrients can not be taken up. Do you have a fan on the plant? adequate ventilation? You said your plants are dying within a week. If you watered them more than the first night they were planted, you are overwatering.
FFOF can be too hot for seedlings, especially so if you're not in the correct pH range. I would find some Kellog's or Promix BX to start your plants in, and then transplant that into the hotter FFOF.