For Lexi Rojahn and Mark Cohen, the wife-husband duo who operate Wingstem Farm in Goose Creek Valley, it all began with a love of the land.

For years, the pair lived in Rappahannock County, learning to raise vegetables and chickens sustainably. Then, in 2012, they moved – chickens in tow – to Bedford County to take over Cohen’s grandfather’s land.

Over time, they began keeping bees, growing hops, and cultivating plants to create dyes. In 2014, they inoculated their first mushroom logs, starting what would become the foundation of their business. They officially created Wingstem Farm in 2015 and became a Grandin Village Farmers Market vendor in 2018.

Shiitake are their bestsellers, and Rojahn’s favorite, too. “They have umami, a really nice savory flavor that goes well in all kinds of things,” she says, adding that they can be used anywhere you’d use portobellos. They grow theirs on oak logs, resulting in superior taste and nutritional value. 

In addition, to fresh shiitake, Wingstem sells a variety of farm-grown dried mushrooms, jewel-colored chicken eggs, beautiful dried flower wreaths, and handmade soaps and salves.

Rojahn is also a fiber artist, who harvests cultivated and foraged plants, extracts their natural dyes, then colors yarn, dyes hand-stamped tea towels, and creates other crafts.

The farm is named for a wildflower that is bountiful on their land – wingstem – blooming in late summer.

“Grandin is a great place for us to be. So much of what you have to do at the market is educating the public and why foods are raised a certain way and why they should care,” Rojahn says. “Grandin people, and Roanoke overall, are already sort of aware of these food issues, so it’s making our job easier.”

Find more information about Wingstem Farm and what they grow, on their website: https://www.wingstemfarm.com/index.html