cindy nome

In a similar situation of prepping an overgrown pasture we employed a minimal till strategy just to break up that thick sod layer.  (David the Good has an informative YouTube video on this)
We used a little tractor w/ potato plow to flip over the sod to kill it. Then we went at with hoes to break up the clumps (crop-fit!). Finally when everything was broken up we used a Hoss manual wheel hoe to further breakdown the now dead grass and mix in  a small amount of manure and compost to make the beds fluffy and fertile for planting.
I was happy to see tons of squiggly worms during the process and we ended up with a respectable harvest the very first growing season.
The entire process took @ 1 month or so from breaking ground to planting.
When flipping beds the next time we just do a very light hoe to reincorporate new compost/manure and whatever garden refuse is left from the prior crop.
Happy Planting!

I have the same issue....i abandoned womans shoes due to poor constuction and tacky colors (except for keens or birkenstocks) and order mens tactical and work boots exclusively.
Most stores seem to have little inventory so I order online and return if they dont work.
I have been happy w/ a pair of comp toe mens Chippewa Apache work boots... wear a 7 wide (equal to 9 wide womens) ....bought as floor sample so had a few scuffs but o/w good as new and were $30. Mens Lowas are also great as an all duty boot.....just expensive!