Grow Support & Greenhouse Data Analysis
Achieve optimal efficiency and the highest quality output with the help of Ceres Grow & Greenhouse Data Support team. Beginning with design, our grow consultants offer greenhouse support and plans for monitoring control so that your operation is set up for success.
Greenhouse Data & Environment Optimization
Smart Controls & Sensors Package include options for measuring:
- Vapor Pressure Deficit (VPD)
- Temperature and humidity
- Light levels & spectrum
- CO2
- Daily temperature fluctuations
- Soil moisture
- Lead temperature
- Irrigation
- Air quality
- kW usage/energy management
Grow Support Services
At Ceres, out team consists of grow consultants offering greenhouse support for planning your operation, troubleshooting grow related issues, and responding to changes in your greenhouse operations and/or climate. We will analyze and give advice regarding:
- Greenhouse operation and efficiency
- Pest & disease issues
- Plant health
- Optimizing greenhouse climate
This consulting can be paired with data analytics, including suggestions for how to optimize your climate based on your location and what you are growing.
Ceres' Building Automation Systems (BAS) & Long Term Data Solutions
Ceres’ remote climate monitoring system provides real-time tracking of greenhouse conditions, plus the ability to evaluate your greenhouse performance over the long-term. We design greenhouse environmental controls and data monitoring systems to create a high performing grow environment. Our SunSense™ controller will track your greenhouse data for an optimal grow environment.
Our Process for Grow Support & Data Services
Our Process for Greenhouse Services
Ceres Greenhouse Services
Related Webinars, Videos, and Content
Grow Support & Data Analysis FAQs
Fabric raised beds are a great option if they are fully contained, have a moisture barrier on the sides and fabric that drains on the bottom.
If you choose to use stone beds, then moisture should not be of concern.
If you choose to use wooden raised beds, then choose a rot resistant wood, like cedar. Wooden beds will wear over time, but if built with a high quality wood like cedar they should last many years. They don’t need any moisture barrier in them from a growing perspective, but some people do choose to add a liner inside the walls of the bed to help the wood last even longer. Don’t line the bottom of the bed because you want good drainage below the bed.
You can extend the beds into the existing soil below you if you build beds out of wood or stone. It allows for good drainage and really deep rooted crops. A healthy living soil should be moist all of the time (but not too wet), and there should be no issues with mold inside the beds or below them in the soil.
It’s important to think about the size and stature of the trees versus the size/height of the greenhouse. If you want to grow tall trees and have lower eaves, it may make sense to grow the trees in the ground. If you are growing small citrus or dwarf trees and plan to prune to keep them at a small stature, you could plant them in raised beds. It’s also important to think about the native soil you are working with – what is the history of the soil? Any known issues with pathogens or heavy metals or dubious things from past land use that might still be in the soil profile to be aware of? If so, it might be worth setting up raised beds with imported soil. What is the soil texture and macro/micro nutrient profile? Those things are easier to change and improve with amendments. So if you decide to grow in the ground (and lots of our clients do successfully), we always highly recommend a soil test to know how to amend the soil appropriately for what you are growing.
Residential growers typically add an electric heater for the coldest times of the year. We can help you integrate a back-up heater when designing your commercial greenhouse.
We offer a few subscriptions for data analysis and support. Our tiered subscription has a Base and a Premium – the difference is “support” hours. Base has 3/year and premium has 24/year. With the extra hours we can get into facility optimization, custom software for equipment operation, etc.
The Base Package allows for remote access from any device, unlimited cloud data storage, access to the online data analytics dashboard and 3 support hours a year. The three hours protects for troubleshooting and support questions on controller setup and use.
The Premium Package includes everything in the Base Package but includes 24 hours per year from the Ceres team. Our Premium services allow the team to provide personalized insights from your facility’s data and improve our SunSense algorithm to fit your specific needs.
Our intention is to minimize operational cost and maximize crop yield.
Our goal is to balance all environmental outputs to best fit your exterior climate and the needs of specific crops. We utilize the interior and exterior climate sensors, equipment power data, and your production goals to leverage the equipment in the most efficient and effective means possible.
With little sunlight and temperatures dropping below freezing, our residential growers most often have to rely on a supplemental heating source; such as propane, natural gas or electric heating sources.
How residential growers fare is also largely dependent on what the residents are growing. For example, for our residents growing leafy greens and more frost tolerant crops in places such as Boulder, CO and Wisconsin the GAHT® is able to maintain temperatures from as low as 27F degrees to low 40s. When it comes to growing figs or tomatoes, on the other hand, one might try keeping an electric heater running in the evenings, and mornings when there is little sun.