If the amount of organic matter in the soil is decreasing it can appear as if the soil level is dropping, shrinking. The main component of soil is the mineral portion, about 90 percent of soil, but organic matter is a necessary part of the mix and adds volume and increases the soils ability to hold moisture and air as well as provide necessary nutrients to plants growing in that soil.

I would blend a little soil into that compost (50-50 or whatever you like) and layer it on the bed. Then use the leaves over top as a mulch. I like to put the most composted materials closest to the existing soil surface, then work up to completely un-composted mulch on top. If the leaves blow away you can reverse that, or put some pine needles or wood chips over them to hold them down. Just my 2 cents.

I love asparagus! Alas, not easy to grow in my clay.

OK, it's not a huge bed (4x8), so I'll rake the leaves onto a tarp, put the compost/soil mix down then top it off with the leaves again.
Thanks, Nancy

As to your beetle problem, I don't know whether the extra mulch would have had anything to do with that or not. Doubtful that they came in with the leaves, but it's possible that there were a few there and they overwintered a bit better due to the mulch, and were able to have a bigger population the next year. I've heard you can wait until a hard freeze or two before mulching to help reduce insects. If your soil really needs the compost (asparagus is a heavy feeder, I think, so it does), then I'd put up with the beetles if they show up again and find some way to deal with them. Anything for fresh asparagus!

Well Tox...TIMING! We here in sunnyCA have been having a real (for us ) freeze, down into the teens and only into the 40-50s during the day!
We are in for a couple more 20's mornings, so I think I'll pull the leaves etc off for the duration of this freeze, then top it back off with compost/soil and leaves
I can only do the best that I can do! Nancy

I would love a 50-degree day. It hasn't been above freezing here for a week, and it's going down to 6 tonight. :-]

Well, it doesn't help that our furnace is out! So it really IS a freeze for us! LOL We do have a wood stove, luckily, but I don't like to waste a fire on daytime unless it is raining too.
I'm finding a lot of reasons to go to the store, or even sit out in the garden while the sun is out to absorb the sun! Nancy

Funny you should say that, our furnace is on the blink too, and we have a woodstove that's keeping us warm. our problem is intermittent, sometimes it fires up, sometimes not. :-\

I wouldn't want to have furnace problems in zone 5! Brrrrr!!!! Especially the last couple of weeks!
Bundle up! Nancy P.S. Ours is temporarily fixed.