I am sure that is part of the issue for the late emergence. It is not packed at all and full of nutrients. The bed always sinks a little every year.

@Lorajay I have noticed that myself....maybe the asparagus using it up to make itself?

I planted about 9 years ago and have no idea what the variety is. I did a top dressing of kamma newer almost every year but this year I did the compost and made it a lot deeper. I think I planted about 8 or 9 plants. I know I have several that have come up from seed and are very small. It takes me 2 or 3 days to get enough for 2 people that really like asparagus.

@Lorajay If you heavy water in the spring when they first start sprouting. Harvest each time they come up until they are about the thickness of a pencil. At that point let them go to fern, fertilize monthly until first frost and let it die back, then trim to the ground,. If it's a dedicated asparagus bed, I would plant some additional crowns. Dig down to about the outside ground level and reserve the dirt. Place the crown at the bottom of the hole, as the fern grows up fill the hole. Keep well watered. 2nd year these should increase your yield significantly. A bed that size should give you enough spears to enjoy every day for the growing season, maybe even two seasons.

@glennlab You can plant them that deep? That looks like about 16" to me. If they are quite deep do they do better? I know mine aren't that deep, although they have been in for years and with additional dirt could be 6-8 inches underground. I have considered adding some more crowns to my bed as I could eat more of it than I get in the spring. The soil more than 12" down gets poor however.

@glennlab my bed us 30 inches deep. Should I really plant them that deep? There is plenty of water in the Spring but I'm really lousy about watering it later in the year. I also only fertilize once a year. I will try to do better.

@Lorajay, @DotLewis 12-14" is ideal, if the soil is poor, dig a little deeper and add compost under the crown, then cover the crown with 1-2 inchesof rich dirt. You are looking at a bed lasting from 10-20 years, so a little work early and top dressing each year will give you good crops. They store the food for next spring's growth in their tuber roots, so feeding from the time they go to fern until Sept. is important. Only backfill as the fern grows so that there are always leaves above the soil level.