No, if I was stuck doing the whole thing with a walk-behind, it would get done in very small sections at a time! Plowed, then disked. And actually, given the range of what I want to grow, prepping small sections at a time in the order of planting makes more sense. Of course, we won't know until we actually settle on a place whether the land has been recently planted or what it may or may not need.
When I was a kid we had a 1.5+ acre "eating" garden and with the exception of the north 1/8th of the field (which was planted in strawberries), the rest was done in rows, each running the entire length of the space. One long row of tomatoes, one row of green peppers, two rows of carrots, two of green beans, etc. What I'm looking at doing is kind of clustering things rather than putting them in long rows. Part of that is psychological on my part. Every morning of every summer was spent weeding three - five rows of the garden, by hand, on hands and knees. I HATED that damn garden and farm life and everything about it! My opinion has obviously changed, but rather than try to tame rows into cooperating and plowing/tilling the entire spread at one time, it makes more sense to me to prep a somewhat squared off section at a time based on what goes in the ground first. And to plant things together that work together - letting strung up cukes/beans provide shade for delicate lettuce varieties and herbs, etc. I also think plants like tomatoes will germinate better if they're clustered rather than spread out over a long row. At least, those have been my experiences in the smaller gardens I've grown over the years, which all produced well.
Damn. Wish I was watching stuff grow now instead of just day-dreaming about it. Larry, will you post pictures of your garden? NOT all your new buddies please, just the plants and produce!!
