If you have a high density of mulch on top and a lot of small weeds, I would rototill things about 5 inches deep.

I would turn over the soil, even if I had to use a spade. With a rototiller available it'd be no contest. Some wouldn't agree with me but I'd also till in some manure, or mushroom compost. I wouldn't buy it in bags at the store, I'd find a horse boarding stable, where it's almost always free. You'll have to bag it or shovel it into a pickup truck. Perhaps you might start a manuring party with a bunch of the fellow gardeners. Google horse boarding with your city or town.

Since you don't know the history of your plot I wouldn't put in a lot, maybe an inch deep. You don't want to overdo it, but I'd want to guarantee that my crops would grow. With the mulch that you're digging in and the manure I wouldn't add any more fertilizer the entire season.

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The manure should be well composted so you don't want take it off the pile from where they're currently dumping. What you want is black or grey colored. If it's black it's done composting. If it's grey colored it'll be steaming, meaning it's getting very hot which is part of composting. The heat will kill the seeds, which will be in there. Don't use brown or the rollers. If there's hay/straw that's the better manure, If there's wood chips in it there won't be as much nitrogen. If you have a choice go to the site with straw for bedding the horses.

I ended up scrapping away the weeds. Old mulch went with.

It's supposed to rain tonight. I'm thinking I should let the soil dry for a day or two before rotor tilling?

I also found an anthill, and I'm looking for product to kill it that won't harm crops planted after.

Looks 100% better already!! Depends on how much rain you get overnight and how well the soil drains....but it certainly won't hurt to wait a day or two before rototilling to be on the safe side.

With a roto-tiller available, you could till in some nutrients of some sort to the general area. Otherwise, just depend on fertilizing the exact area footprint of where you plant stuff.

Even if you are able to plant in-ground, you may still want to section it off by growing in plot sizes that allow you to reach from all sides, as well as give you a walking path.

An example would still be to grow in 4x4 areas with 18-24" walking path, depending what kind of tools and wagons you expect to be pulling through the area.

Think of it as the layout that you may have with raised beds, but now you don't have to use bed walls or materials, even if you continue to use a similar layout.

Looks amazing! I definitely like mulch and it is great in the vegetable garden. I didn't mulch my first few years as my vegetable gardening experience always had bare earth showing. The weeding was constant and in the heat with mosquitoes it was darn unpleasant. When I used some untreated bark and shredded leaves, the reduction in weeding was amazing and I had better water retention. After you plant your seedlings, I would definitely consider mulching around them especially if the community there provides easy access.

Here in Indiana and about, the big thing in the spring is to get the soil warm and dry enough. Mulch then is some hindrance. Later, it can be good.

That's a good point Wayne. I wasn't suggesting to mulch right now, but after the plants are planted.

On the other hand, bare soil will go to weeds. If you are done weeding, then put down four or five inches of mulch (I use shredded fall leaves and coffee grounds). Then push it aside when you are ready to plant. The secret to a weed-free garden is no bare ground. True, you will probably delay ground temps coming up by a week, but that's a trade-off that is up to the individual to make.