[WeeJo]

OK, so I've marked out my site and have my plan for my beds all marked out.  Now comes the hard part - digging!   

The land my plot is on was in agricultural use before but I want to make sure that the soil is good for next spring.  

I am starting on my potato bed and aim to double dig an area of 4 ft by 10 ft and am going to dig in manure to enrich it.  But I am finding it hard to do the digging because of the amount of stones I am coming across.  

I don't want to damage my spade too badly and I was wondering if I should maybe be trying to use a fork when I hit a stone or should I just use a small trowel to excavate them?  
 

Any advce will be welcome as at this rate it's gonna take me till spring just to double dig this one bed.

The next bed down is gonna be for my root veg so the soil in it will also will need to be stone free (but no manure on this one I believe).  Would it be ok to leave the rest of the beds undug this year?

I am totally new to all this, so all advice would be most welcome.  

[Yorkie]

The advantage to getting them at least roughly dug into clods, is that the winter frosts can do their best to break them down.  You could do the 'finer' digging in the spring before sowing or planting out, if that fits your timetable.

[mumofstig]

when I had a stoney soil I only ever used to dig with a fork, it stops the jarring in your joints every time you hit a stone 
I'd lift a clod with the fork and turn over then push the fork tines into the lower soil and loosen without actually lifting it.
The trouble with very stoney soil is that the stones continually work their way to the surface, even when you think you've got them all out.
The advantage is that the soil tends to warm up quickly in the spring

[Fisherman]

Some people like to use a mattock (pickaxe type tool) for digging out stones. Haven't used one for years but I remember they were good for levering out large stones and rocks from the ground. Just think how fit you will be when you've finished