What does 60/30/10 mean?

When growing in a sustainable farm, using the method of 60/30/10 can be quite useful when deciding what to plant and when. The How to Grow More Vegetables book states that, "A 60/30/10 ratio for a year of crops has been shown to produce sustainable food and soil fertility." What do these ratios stand for? The 60 represents Carbon and Calorie crops, chosen for maximum carbon and significant calories. The 30 stands for Calorie and Specific Root Crops, chosen for maximum calories. Lastly, the 10 represents vegetation crops for vitamins and minerals. The target amount per person is 13,200 calories per 60 square feet, the amount of space we have in one bed on the farm. This translates to about 30 lbs of food harvested in one bed in a year.  In addition, the goal for compost, which is air-dry biomass, is about 18 lbs per bed. These numbers have been proven to assist with higher yields in less space, what sustainable farming is all about.

Why do we use it?

We use this method because it is a sustainable way to produce crops that we can eat, are good for the soil, as well as generating material for compost. The 60/30/10 ratio does leave room for choice, especially if there is one certain crop, like tomatoes for example, I want to include in my bed. While I know that tomatoes are heavy feeders, I can still incorporate nutrients elsewhere in my bed. Having sufficient calorie crops are especially important when planting in a sustainable farm, in order to produce enough food to eat for a whole year. Composting is also essential and having enough compost, including acquiring compost from plants that have already been harvested, is key to having healthy soil especially between growing seasons.

Why is it sustainable?

This ratio of 60/30/10 was taken from the book we refer to often in class, How to Grow More Vegetables. This book talks about methods for growing sustainably. In general, their Grow Biointensive plan uses 99% less energy than commercial agriculture while using a fraction of the resources. 60/30/10 is a major part of that sustainability because it can produce carbon and calorie crops, crops for vitamins and minerals, while still generating enough compost to keep the soil healthy and fertilized. For this reason, the 60/30/10 ratio is very sustainable and helps reinforce farming habits that are good for you and the soil.

When do we use this method in class?

I am in charge of the A12 bed on the farm, along with 3 other students. We used this method when deciding what to plant in our bed, as many other groups in class did as well. It was especially helpful to refer to when our bed wasn't balanced, with too many heavy feeders and not enough crops that generate compost. The 60/30/10 ratio helped our group determine what could and couldn't be planted while still keeping in mind our original plan of what we wanted to be harvesting when the end of the growing season came. —Noe C