Originally Posted by dkf85281

i've provided more info from urban garden center regarding the UCT-9 tea catcher... why would anyone use the leachate in the first place? and what does "leachate can certainly be used as a good fertilizer but with more care than compost tea" mean? anyone know what "more care" means?

taken from urbangardencenter.com:
"Compost Tea, also known as liquid gold by many horticulturists, is used in place of commercial liquid fertilizers for your flowers, herb, vegetables, and practically anything else that grows. Compost tea is used to feed plants, restore plants, enhance soil microflora and can be sprayed onto the foliage to control foliar diseases. Besides giving your outdoor Flower & Garden plants a real boost in Organic nutrient... it is also used for many exotic indoor plants as well.For many gardeners, compost tea is even more valuable than the actual compost.

Using an oil waste container rated to contain hazardous waste, this perfect little 6-quart tea catcher captures the leachent in the early stages of composting and compost tea in the later brewing stage. The 6-quart container comes with a fitting that screws into the drain plug at the bottom of the UCT-9, a butterfly value to start and stop flow, and a 20 inch tube with fitting to drain from the barrel into the container.

Note the WARNING to the right. We considered calling our tea-catcher a leachate-catcher but figured few people would recognize the name and our tea-catcher will do both. Leachate certainly can be used as a good fertilizer but with more care than compost tea. At minimum our tea-catcher is very good a handling leachate.

To make compost tea in the UCT-9, leave about an inch of finished compost in the bottom of the barrel, add 3 gallons of water and let it sit for 7 to 10 days. Drain the tea out for use.

thanks!