When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Natalia and Robert Bond discovered that they wanted more elbow room than their home in Watertown offered. They began to take walks in the forest, where Natalia was delighted to spot bolete, wine cap, chicken of the woods and reishi mushrooms in the wild. Born in Kazakhstan, Natalia used to spend summers in Siberia with an aunt and uncle who taught her to forage. While many people plunged into sourdough starter and bread baking during lockdown, Natalia and Robert fell into a different obsession: first foraging for mushrooms, then learning to grow them.
Robert shared the couple’s newfound mycological passion with a beekeeping cousin who suggested they sell their harvest at farmers markets, and My County Mushrooms, or MCM—an intentional nod to mycelium—was born. An old photo of Natalia growing mushrooms in Siberia was adapted as their logo.
“Our first year doing this, we would just go [to a farmers market] with two or three boxes of mushrooms and say ‘Let’s see what happens.’ And people came! They would ask, ‘Did you grow these?’ They could tell this isn’t what you’re buying at Whole Foods or Market Basket,” Robert says.
Excited by the potential for growth, the couple moved to Gardener and converted their new garage into a farm where they control the temperature, humidity and lighting. Now in their third growing season, Natalia and Robert still work their day jobs—Natalia in financial consulting and Robert as a biochemist and consultant for clients seeking USDA, FDA and FSMA certifications—but the couple dreams of turning this into a full-time profession.
Shiitake ($20/lb), scallop oyster ($20/lb), and blue oyster ($20/lb) are the best-selling mushrooms by pound. My County Mushrooms also grows yellow oyster ($20/lb), maitake ($22/lb), black forest shiitake ($22/lb), crimini ($8/lb), lion’s mane ($22/lb), and new this year—pioppini ($24/lb) and chestnut ($24/lb). Fresh mushrooms still comprise the bulk of their business, but powders, marinades and mushroom coffees—especially those including the potential medicinal benefits of lion’s mane—are “selling gangbusters,” Robert says, so they are working to grow that product line.
“It has been, and continues to be, an adventure. Selling out, seeing people every week… we really enjoy it,” Robert says. Judging by how the newest mushroom varietal, pioppini, sold out in its first hour at its Lexington Farmers Market debut, the town seems to be enjoying it too.
My County Mushrooms, https://mycountymushrooms.com/. At the 2025 Lexington Farmers’ Market weekly. Pre-orders available for pickup at Ovenbird Cafe (105 Trapelo Road Belmont) on Wednesdays at 3 p.m.
When Matt Venier was younger, he was given a Japanese short sword and told it was likely “a ceremonial piece of junk”—something his uncle had probably brought back from World War II. As he researched it, however, he discovered the sword was probably from the 17th or 18th century. Venier’s interest in learning how to restore the relic led him to found Venier Forge, a niche company that makes and restores custom swords and blades. His work earned him television credits on the knife-making reality TV shows, Forged in Fire and Man At Arms: Reforge.
About ten years ago, Venier was catching up with a knife-making friend from Connecticut over the phone. “He said he’d been sharpening knives at farmers markets and I realized he’s a genius; Not everyone in the world needs a custom-made Japanese sword, but everyone has a dull something.”
After talking to his friend, Venier decided to apply his experience working with steel and heat to a more mainstream business: sharpening knives and other dull objects—scissors, gardening shears, and anything else people bring him—at farmers markets. He says the work, even in the extreme heat of summer, has been an upgrade from the forge.
“Generally in the summer, I don’t want to be in front of a 2,500-degree fire, so it kind of works out for the best,” Venier said. “In the fall, winter and spring, I make swords and once June hits, I’m at farmers markets. I do a few winter markets too.”
Venier brings a paper wheel to each market, and begins most knife sharpenings with two passes on each side of the blade. “You never want to build up a lot of heat on one part of the knife,” he explained, so he always keeps the blade moving and gives each knife a lot of rest between passes. Venier knows a blade is done “if I can cut paper with it.”
Knives with a blade under 5 inches are considered small and cost $5 to sharpen; longer than 5 inches cost $10. Scissor or scissor-like tools are typically $10; machetes, axes, and hatchets are negotiable—if they require tools kept at Venier’s shop in Lancaster, Venier will return them at the following market.
Venier Forge, http://venierforge.com. At the 2025 Lexington Farmers’ Market biweekly: September 2, 16, 30, October 14, 28.
More dispatches from the Lexington Farmers Market:
- Sugar and spice at the Lexington Farmers Market
- At the Lexington Farmers Market, no one bowls alone
- Lexington Farmers Market Dispatch #4: Feast like an influencer
- Dispatches from the Lexington Farmers Market
- Lexington Farmers’ Market dispatch #3: Summer in New England
- Lexington Farmers’ Market dispatch #2: Beyond produce
- Lexington Farmers’ Market celebrates 20 years
- The Lexington Farmers’ Market offers fresh, local foods and a community gathering space