I don't have a rotavator, but I do have a tiller, which I find very helpful now I'm getting older. I still dig the beds by hand, but use the tiller to knock the soil down to a fine tilth for seed sowing. I can get it done in a tenth of the time it would take me to do it by hand, and it does a better job of it. I don't think I could carry on with my plots if I hadn't got my little machine. Some of my neighbouring plot holders never dig, but always use a large rotavator, and the way the water lies on the top of the soil after heavy rain is very noticeable.