MJBizMag March 2021 - 49

Planning to Excel
Los Angeles
cultivator keeps
a strict schedule
to maximize
output and avoid
bottlenecks
P
erhaps the most important tool
that Chris Ball, owner of Ball
Family Farms in Los Angeles, has
in his cultivation toolshed is database
software Microsoft Excel.
" Our best friend is that computer
program, " said Ball, explaining that he
depends on Excel to plan and coordinate
the seven strains he grows annually in
eight grow rooms that each can hold
about 60 plants.
Ball breeds and uses his own genetics
to grow six signature strains plus a " oneoff "
in any given year. His bestseller,
Daniel LaRusso, gets two rooms, while
the other five signature strains and the
one-off strain get one room each.
A 12-MONTH PLAN
Every strain needs its own room because
each has its own environmental preferences,
Ball said. Some cultivars thrive
when the room is cold while others do
better when it's hot; some need more
humidity while others excel with less
humidity.
" We have different lighting patterns,
depending on the strain, " Ball said, adding
that each room has 30 lights. " It really
comes down to dialing in your strain,
figuring out what that particular cultivar
likes and doesn't like. And then you set
that room up so that the plant will be in
the correct environment for that cultivar. "
The different strains also take varying
lengths of time to mature. To avoid
harvesting multiple strains on the same
day or harvesting crops too far apart-as
well as to ensure a steady and consistent
supply of product-Ball and his team
meticulously plan their year.
" At the beginning of the year, we come
together as a team and map out the entire
Indoors
By Omar Sacirbey
Chris Ball owns the
20,000-square-foot
cultivation facility Ball Family
Farms in Los Angeles.
Courtesy Photo
year from start to finish-from January
all the way to Dec. 31. We write out our
schedule of when this strain is going to
be in this room for this many weeks, this
strain in this room for this many weeks, "
Ball explained.
This is where Excel comes in.
March 2021 | mjbizdaily.com 49

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MJBizMag March 2021

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