One Halloween, when young Huck resembled a mini Mac truck, a neighbour offered up a brick disguised as organic carrot cake, rather than candy. They should’ve renamed it Trick or Traumatise. Organic food has polarised us since we first realised plants don’t necessarily require deodorant. Pesticides, herbicides, insecticides – excuse me waiter, I don’t recall ordering any sides. The perception of ‘organics’ is somewhat like the obnoxious partner you once had that made you feel good, but even your best friends thought you were ‘just going through a phase’. But you don’t have to grow a beard and ride a fixie to explore its virtues. You just have to care about what fuels your body.

Eating your body weight in organic chocolate won’t prevent you from looking like someone poured you into your pants and forgot to say when. Hell, it’s not even cheaper. But having spent time at Kurrawong Organics, I learned there’s every chance it will be better value for money. Wait, what? Cheaper organics? Well, hear me out.

Around 1100 metres above sea level and 30 kilometres east of Bathurst in New South Wales, Kurrawong Organics farm is nestled on the nutrient-rich volcanic, basalt soil of Kirkconnell. What started in 1931 by Charles Bland is now owned by grandson Quentin and his wife Lesley, third-generation farmers who are producing some of the most stunning organic brassicas (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and Brussels sprouts) in Australia. In the early days, the focus shifted from Brussels sprouts to an apple orchard, but in the 1980s the orchard was removed and a fully fledged focus on brassicas began. When sprouts lost favour, broccoli got the lead role and the family hit the stage by taking broccoli from beige to broc ‘n‘ roll. They even scored organic certification for their efforts.

It’s about five-jackets cold when I climb into 19-year-old Harry’s LandCruiser for a tour of his parents’ farm. Wrapped in the isolation of the 20,000-hectare Sunny Corner State Forest, rows of pines that replaced gums provide a pathway to the lush rolling hills of green organic broccoli heads – 250-acres worth owned by the family.

“We’re producing about 500,000 broccoli heads a year,” says Harry. Some 95 per cent is destined for Sydney Markets at Flemington and then on sold to organic retailers nationwide.

But the family’s joy is the face-to-face experience at farmers’ markets in Sydney’s Eveleigh, Bondi and Taylor Square, and at Capital Region in Canberra. “People always ask whether we use sprays,” says Quentin. “Of course we do. The list of organic sprays is as long as your arm.” He says that it’s really about caring for the soil. As such, the Blands rotate each paddock on a three-year basis. They put in green manure, let it fallow, then sow oats, rye, clover and peas to help build up compost and regenerate the soil. Irrigation comes from the pristine water of six spring-fed dams.

But even Quentin concedes being organic doesn’t necessarily make it better. “You can buy great conventionally farmed produce. You just need to know where your food is from, how it’s grown and you might find it lasts longer, too.” And that’s the point. Think about your vegetable crisper for a moment. How often do you buy produce that ends up in the bin? According to OzHarvest, it’s one in every five shopping bags. In supermarket land, fruit and veg are often picked green to ripen through the food chain. It’s ready when you buy it, but has a shorter shelf life because it’s been out of the ground longer.

“We cut it when it’s ready to eat,” says Quentin. Vegetables harvested on Thursday are sold on Saturday. It may be a touch more expensive, but a shorter time out of the soil means more nutrients and longer life in your crisper. Up to two weeks, Quentin tells me, so there’s every chance it’ll be consumed before it rots.

When it comes to organics, while the up-front cost may seem more, you’re probably not going to throw it out and replace it. So, it’ll be tastier, healthier and will benefit the earth, and it might just fit into your budget, too.