Cold winters in Chile’s seventh and eighth southern growing regions ensure good vernalization for our cabbage. Seeding out and transplants are generally finished by the end of March, depending on variety type and growth, with harvest the following January and customer delivery in late February and March.

In contrast, the milder winter around Melipilla (Chile’s fifth region) is ideal for the frost sensitive broccoli and cauliflower seed production. These are seeded out from March through late May, with transplants going into the ground about 40 days after seeding. Temperate spring weather and the coastal influence create an ideal climate for flowering in September/October, and seed harvest in January.

Isolation requirements for Brassica are just as important as in any of our other seed crops.  To help assure this fundamental aspect, Semillas GoldStar S.A. has integrated a professional standard GPS marking system which is operated and supervised by our national seed producers’ organization (ANPROS).

Our founders and staff recognize that ensuring good nick for Brassica crops is one of the most important and critical factors for a successful production. We have therefore initiated nicking trials at our dedicated home farms for all our Brassica clients prior to outdoor production. Maximizing yield and genetic purity, while minimizing risk to growers, clients and ourselves, requires taking the time to learn how our clients’ genetic material behaves with smaller trials. We have learned over the years that genetics can perform quite differently in Chile than in other parts of the world and being able to evaluate each lines’ performance with trials limits loss and helps set the stage for appropriate outdoor production and success.

Small cage productions are also available to produce experimental hybrids or confirm nicking trial results from a previous season.  We have a few different sizes to choose from.  Larger productions are all placed with outside growers.