Hand digging vs renting a tiller, which side are you on now?

I used to hand dig every new bed in my yard. Took me three full weekends to clear a 10x12 patch behind my garage in Austin. Back hurt for a week after. Last fall I finally rented a tiller from Home Depot for $68 for the day. Finished the same size in about 3 hours. But now I notice the soil is way more compacted after the tiller breaks it up. Hand digging lets me pull out rocks and roots as I go. The tiller just chews them up and spits them back. My tomatoes did better in the handed bed, but my back likes the tiller. Am I missing something? Has anyone found a middle ground, like a broadfork or just doing it in smaller chunks over weeks? What made you switch and did you stick with it?

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