[JoyPegs]

Hi - we are allotment newbies battling the weather on a virgin plot.  The whole site is waterlogged (clay pasture) and my newly dug asparagus bed is now a pond, but the crowns have just arrived.  What should I do with them until it's possible to repair the bed and plant them?

[Lardman]

You're not going to want them sitting in a pond at all.  You may need to create some ridges with well drained material for the crowns to sit on for the long term otherwise they will just rot when planted. Until then depending on the state they're in, keep them cool and dark and they should be fine until the weather drys out in a bit.

[Hampshire Hog]

Only other point worth mentioning is to be patient with them once planted. My plants only produced very thin whispy ferns for the first couple of years. They now produce spears as thick as my thumb so give them time to mature and you’ll be harvesting for years.
Good Luck HH

[JoyPegs]

Many thanks for the advice both.  I will be adding drainage & building up ridges before planting - once the waves subside I was just worried that they'd die if not planted soon, & thought perhaps they'd be better in a container or something, so that's a relief.  I'll keep them in the packaging now and hope for the best. 

[Subversive_plot]

You might want to consider building a raised bed of well-drained compost for their "forever home".

[Blewit]

I guess it depends on how long it'll take you to make a decent, well drained permanent bed for them. Asparagus is tougher than you might think and can be transplanted (I moved mine successfully at five years old). If it's going to take a while to get their bed ready it'll probably be safer to pop them into individual containers (or compost bags stood on end).

[JoyPegs]

Thanks everyone for trying to help but I think we're just in the lap of the gods for this year. 

Thanks for the bag suggestion Blewit but it will be cheaper to order new crowns than to buy in enough compost to start them individually.  One batch has already started to shoot so I really hope the ground will drain & dry off soon.  I've just dug down deep enough to remove the pasture layer and when able I will mix in a drainage layer to the fertile clay, then build up the ridges & top off with good soil mix & compost. 

Looks like yet more rain here until the middle of next week & then at last some seasonal weather, but we have a badly timed week away then, postponed from last year.  Had thought we'd have everything in & established over the last few weeks, just needing watering while we are away, but you know what 'thought' did!  Will just have to see what will survive and revive when we get back.  Poor tomatoes and other seedlings are also getting leggy while they wait!  Hey ho - such is lottie life I guess