[Babstreefern]

I have a rotavator.  Brilliant for that back breaking job.  I physically dig over the plot by hand in October/November - I love that bit.  But when Spring comes and you need your fine tilth, rotivate it.  I don't know where I'd be without mine.  I have a largish one, not the Mantis Tiller as I've seen others use them, and they don't go down more than 4 inches, which is just scratching the surface.  Mine goes down double that, so it really does give it a good "raking" so to speak

[peapod]

The trouble with a rotovator on my plot is that Ive got bindweed and mares tail. Im not chopping that lot up more than I have to 

[Stripey_cat]

Lots of muck and compost, and let the worms do the work for you!  Or did you want a technique that'll help this year?  Seriously, I have my garden compost-bin on a corner of the veg patch, and the worms incorporate most of the compost into the soil for me - that bed has a good foot of tilth (over a couple of feet of poorer subsoil, and brick-ready clay at about 3' depth), and while some of that may be due to the previous owner's hard work, a lot of it is the little wriggly friends.