Brewing tea w/o bubbler

I would like to brew tea but I am on a bit of a budget so I can't get a bubbler right now. That being said, how long would you say a tea needs to brew in the bucket without it? I've read that it needs about a week, is that pretty much an accepted assumption?

What kind of tea? A Botanical Tea is maybe 36 hours. Simple room temp water extraction. Bubbler just keeps it from smelling (going anaerobic). You could use barley
seeds, corn seeds, Alfalfa, comfrey, dandelion, etc.

For compost you could consider adding compost or EWC to water to make a slurry and dump in on the soil.

You mite want to wait until you are able to afford a bubbler. You can get unwanted micro-organisms inside your tea because your tea would be anaerobic. You should check out a book called teaming with microbes, or google why how AACT works and stuff like that.

Rrog said:

What kind of tea? A Botanical Tea is maybe 36 hours. Simple room temp water extraction. Bubbler just keeps it from smelling (going anaerobic). You could use barley
seeds, corn seeds, Alfalfa, comfrey, dandelion, etc.

For compost you could consider adding compost or EWC to water to make a slurry and dump in on the soil.

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I have EWC so I will use that and molasses more than likely. I also have some Plant-tone..the package says you can use it monthly but I'm not sure about adding it in a tea (I did mix in the soil I prepared though) ..I would need to further research that. So I am guessing that using an anaerobic tea could potentially have negative effects on the plant based on what Daniel said?

Once dumped on the soil they'll be swarmed. Just a short term odor. 36 hours

How often can I feed the EWC tea to the plant? And what is the shelf life on it typically?

I'd maybe just top dress the soil with the EWC most of the time. Water it in. Simple. As Jaykush would say, add a little but add it often.

I would really suggest you try a botanical tea with Barley seeds. Or corn seeds. Some nutrition in there that you can't get even from Vermicompost.

First off, buy a bubbler. They're like $10, plus another $10 for hose and cheap airstone.

I wouldn't add molasses if you can't bubble. It'd probably be fine, but bubbling makes a huge difference, it's all about the effects of high-dissolved oxygen content on liquid organic matter.

You CAN topdress EWC, as Rrog said, but it's better to bubble. You'll experience noticeably better results, I've seen that first hand, and top-dressing EWC has disadvantages. I even filter the actual solid material from my bubbled EWC teas out before feeding. What happens is that the EWC forms a layer on top of your medium that can get pretty cakey, impede future watering, make it harder for the medium to take on water, especially on longer grows, etc.

I use Bio-Bizz nutrients, Especially the Alg-A-Mic, Fish Mix, Bio-Grow, and TopMax. I use 1TB/gallon for every feeding, and I'll combine the Bio-Grow/Fish-Mix/Alg-A-Mic at 1TB/gallon of EACH and bubble then feed. Never had better results, never seen any negative effects. This is over literally countless grows, different strains, different mediums, but always organic.

Good growing )

Leave 3" on top of the pot to work in top-dressed amendments.

What does the high dissolved O2 do to the worm castings that makes it so much better? Haven't found any lab data on that.

a bubbler is nice, but you can do fine teas without one
i just use plastic jugs that can be shaken - give a good shake twice a day and that's more than adequate to keep the oxygen levels sufficient
that's for modest sized quantities, bigger operations will need a bubbler

Wal Mart is you friend... Air Pump $9.00, Air stone 2 pack $2.49, 10 feet of air line $1.29

If that is a stoping point, you need to get a job at age 15

VX420 said:

Wal Mart is you friend... Air Pump $9.00, Air stone 2 pack $2.49, 10 feet of air line $1.29

If that is a stoping point, you need to get a job at age 15

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Just wanted you all to know that I purchased an air pump..11 bucks off eBay haha

Glad you purchased a bubbler. SO cheap and SO easy, but if an alternative is needed: my mother used to tape a couple of long straws together and put them in the opening to the brew. As a very small child, it was my job to blow air bubbles in the tea several times a day.
I think it was more to keep a small child busy and a part of the gardening, but it never stunk and didn't cost a dime. I can remember doing this as young as about 3 yrs old and feeling very important.

Is composite tea to be used in the place of a watering or is it supposed to be done in addition to watering the plant? So for example if my plant is due for watering but I brewed a tea to use would I only use the tea or would I do both?

Compost tea would be used instead of water in your schedule, or can be used as a foliar feeding.

So long as we all know that bubbling tea isn't a requirement. It's just a choice as to how to deliver compost to the plant.

Rrog said:

So long as we all know that bubbling tea isn't a requirement. It's just a choice as to how to deliver compost to the plant.

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While it isn't a requirement, bubbling does make the nutrients more readily available to the plant, right?

Bubbling keeps it aerobic. I like that part. I have many pumps and air stones.

But I don't bubble compost. I think it's great if people do, as at least they're using compost.

Agree with above.....In a 5gal it will go anaerobic just sitting. The oxygen helps speed up microbe activity it will still happen without airstone but have to shake up or stir for a bit. But there's a tipping point when things go anaerobic and you don't want that. 24hr to 48 is the most Id go

Does liquid kelp work the same way as kelp meal? And can that be used for the entire grow or once it starts flowering should I mix something else? That kelp meal shit is expensive as fuck..the liquid seems a bit more in my price range..