Had hoped to get Jersey Knight since I have clay silt loam (not heavy clay, but a really thick loam). Trenches are 'loosely' covered with 3-4 inches of heavy loam (as loose as heavy clay silt loam can be!), and will be 6-7 inches deep when filled in.

Any problems with Jersey Supreme in non-sandy soil? Does Jersey Knight really do better in soils with clay? Anyone add sand into the asparagus when filling?

Extensions say not to get too wet, so I had not watered until now. Subsurface stayed moist but the surface got really hard so I started to water lightly. The asparagus has not come up after 9 days. Some are close, and some have only started budding. How long do they take to come up (cool/light frosts)? How much have others watered to help emergence?

The area is on a slope, and I would rather not have drainage soak into just the sand and rot the crowns unless sand has helped others.

Have you mulched the surface with something biodegradable? I think that will be much more useful than taking any other step. The roots will move up or down to find their most comfortable depth over a period of years, and it all works best with good top-down fertility that creates habitat for night crawlers and suppresses weeds.

Asparagus is a great plant for a slope. Stop worrying, the drainage will take care of itself.

Thanks Buckyz4 - will be patient. Had read emergence in a week through 6 inches, but that must be an over-generalization and too short a time.

Did you fill in the trenches all the way at planting?

So far only about half have come up this spring, but I expect most if not all to emerge. They look pretty healthy.