It all depends on your current soil conditions and how big the garden is.

A vegetable garden doesn't have to be tilled or plowed every year. If it has grass on it, the biggest job will be breaking that up. If the soil is poor - low in organic matter - you'll want to incorporate a lot of compost up front and more each year to maintain the levels and build a better soil. Sounds like you are ready to do that.

I had my garden plot initially tilled by a guy with a tractor, not sure of the size (of the tractor) but it was finely broken up (tilled) rather than plowed. I would recommend a tiller rather than a plow for gardening.

I don't know of any rock-removing implement. Your own two hands is pretty much it. If you pick a spot to toss them into a pile and do that whenever you see them, over time there will be fewer and fewer. I keep a small pot in the corner of each raised bed for rock pieces - mine are gravel about 1-2" across and there are not many at this point.

Re planting, you don't HAVE to plant in rows. You probably do want to establish some paths to walk on and beds that you don't walk on. If you plant tomatoes, peppers or other plants that are not grown from seed, you can plant them in a grid rather than rows.

You might want to start small with one bed rather than a huge area the first year. Expand it each year as you have time and materials.

Rocks: sandman from h. barber. duragrade. perhaps a pull behind landscape rake? If you can imagine it, it probably exists. Not saying you want to know what it costs. In general, rock pickers tend to be for larger. Larger acreage, larger horsepower, larger rock.

Everyone has their own little thing about how to do things. I have a plow, a tiller, a cultivator, a disc. I use a single ripper more than i use the plow currently, but I did use the plow extensively the first year, when the sod was turned under. Now, I use the disc and the tiller for tilling and bed prep, and the cultivator during the season.

Best advice, start small. Try. Think about it, and you'll wind up getting things that sit a lot. Try it first, and see what works well and what just drives you flippin nuts, and then see what's out there to handle the things you find onerous. For the most part, it's out there. The wonderful thing about the internet is, now you can find it. Not saying it'll be easy.

The one thing is, power. There are a lot of really cool toys that work well with power, and people try to get cheap, or to scale it down for smaller sizes. Power works. Lack of power rarely does. I'm not old, but I'm not young anymore, and I just don't like doing things the hard way.

As Tox said it depends on the size of your garden.

I don't know much about the X530 but I would think a tow behind cart would be useful in moving plants, soil and compost.

Good advice there about buying tools that will sit a lot. I meant to recommend renting or borrowing implements if you can to see how you like them. And keep in mind that as the soil becomes optimal you will have less work to do and may not need the same implements you started with. I have a Mantis tiller I hardly ever use now.

Toys! I like the cart idea, or get a small trailer from Harbor Freight for $189. I also think you'll want a bucket on the front. The rear blade will be handy for scraping sod and leveling beds. I'm not a fan of tilling, and I had a fairly large garden until recently. 1500 sf of beds. I tried renting a tiller but hated the results and didn't repeat the experiment. While I'm spending your money, I'd get a chipper/shredder, but I'd recommend something you tow, not drive from a PTO. I have a MacKissic Merry Mac 12P tow-behind chipper and it makes compost out of leaves, branches and pine needles. Have fun.

Edit: I lived on an acre, and more than half was grass. If you've got a large yard like I had, then you'll want a zero-turn mower with a large deck, not a lawn tractor, to mow with. It will get the job done much faster.

My best advice is think how big you could possibly make the project going to go and buy toys-I mean tools-to accomplish something a tad bigger. I spent a not insignificant sum on hand tools, tiller, brush mower and hiring larger equipment for a smallish garden. Fast forward to now, I have JD 3032E and around 2 acres in various stages of garden type projects. My scope quickly outgrew the smaller tools, which aren't used much anymore.

I still plow and then disc some areas for corn, beans, and green manures Or to break fresh ground. To seed, i have a gardenway planter. I am starting to prefer ruth stout type raised rows for their low maintenance once established. A swiveling, tilting back blade would be great for this, but I don't have one yet

I use the front end loader all the time for moving material. my landscape rake was abused and bent clearing up logging slash, but it would do a decent job screening out rocks-if I had any. My 3 point pallet forks are great for carrying stuff, aerating a compost pile, or raising logs off the ground to be cut. I second the 12P chipper/shredder. I agonized over this or a PTO driven machine, but this thing is great for compost or mulch pile material.