I can't believe some of you have to use a jackhammer to bust up your soil!
I'll take this an opportunity to advocate for the
Green Broadfork of Destiny:
From top to bottom I have a scant few inches of good topsoil, then yellowish clay, then compacted sand(stone), then black adobe clay. I have a similar experience to mangomanic in that a pickaxe is just useless. It'll make a tiny little dent, and that's it. If I try to dig a hole with a garden spade I can jump my 220# up and down on it all day long and never penetrate more than 4". I have a rototiller, and if I attempt to till un-forked soil it will just skate across the top.
With the broadfork I can get down a good 12", and without breaking my back. It's still hard work, but it doesn't hurt.
So I typically fork in rows until I've prepped a few hundred sf, and then I run the tiller over it 2-3 times. Then I can actually plant something.
Of course I also paid $250 for it
, so it's not for everyone, but it's the best garden tool I own. And now it's "only" $200, so it's a bargain!