I always plow my garden in the fall, as that let's it dry better in the spring and I can plant earlier. I rotate my garden spots every few years and when I go to the new spot, I'll use a set of bottom plows to break the ground. After that, I will chisel plow the ground. Chiseling helps break the hard pan some, and doesn't disturb the soil quite as much. If I can ever get to doing it, the ideal thing would be to plant a cover crop every year and turn that under. The problem doing that is that our springs are usually wet, and the soil needs to be dry to be plowed.
I work my gardens with a variety of implements. A 3 bottom plow, a 5 shank chisel plow, a 10 foot disc harrow, a 4 foot 3 point hitch tiller on a small tractor, and a rear tine garden tiller. Each has it's place.
