Honey Locust is a tree species that we are unable to source in our Peshtigo, Wisconsin location. Fortunately we had a citizen scientist in Arkansas with plenth of Honey Locust and a willingness to try to answer the question: "What mushrooms can I grow on Honey Locust logs?".
Honey Locust trees are known for their gnarly spine structures covering the trunks and branches, which often find themselves to be a source of irriation for landowners. For this project, trees were felled in late February 2024 to provide enought logs to test Shiitake (specifically WR46 Shiitake and Night Velvet) and Chestnut.
Logs were inoculated in early March with the following results:
There was minimal fruiting from Chestnut in the fall of 2024 with nothing more following in 2025. At this time, until further tests are done, we would consider Chestnut to be "compatible", but only producing a small crop.
Shiitake fruited first in the fall of 2024 and throughout the spring of summer 2025, though lightly. However, in the early fall of 2025 they witnessed an incredible flush in correlation with a heavy rain and temperature drop, resulting in 281 shiitake mushrooms on just 11 honey locust logs!
The scientist noted that Night Velvet performed better than WR46. While more testing is needed to fully understand the longevity of honey locust logs, we feel confident in recommending it as an excellent substrate for shiitake cultivation, especially when using a warm season strain.