I honestly didn't think about that, I knew it was stupid to use sponges, but it was a temporary solution. When we found out the pH was really high we quickly moved them into the hydroponics system (w/o nutrients) and at the time we still did not have our grow media in yet, as we had planned on staying in the soil another week or so.
We've got a bunch of plants that have just sprouted, perhaps they can take the place of this bunch.
Thanks for your help all.