Here is what my garden looks like 25 March 2017.
I have one trench dug, 12" wide, 9" to 12" deep. The ground was VERY hard. I used a pick and shovel, then soaked the ground, then a pick and shovel again! It is incredibly hard and not just a little discouraging.
I learned the City of Tempe was giving away free compost, so I drove to get a pickup load this morning and put it in the trench giving up on going any deeper with the trench.