Tilling... Do I remove the grass first?

Mount Hermon, LA(Zone 8b)

Recently, I purchased a little Troy-bilt "Tuffy" tiller. Never having used a tiller, and believing the advertisements, I trotted it out to the front lawn, intending to create small gardening strips on either side of the front walkway.

I erroneously thought that one simply pressed a button to start the machine and then happily (and effortlessly) tilled away to create beautiful garden beds. What a dummy! LOL.

When they say, "two-finger operation," they must mean that you can do that if the ground has been previously tilled.

Trying to till up the grass was a man's job, so I called in DH for reinforcements. The city-boy doesn't know any more about tilling than I do, and even he had a rough time of it.

Should we have tried to remove the grass before attempting to till?

And, if so, is there a tool that helps to remove the top layer of grass on a lawn?

I could use some help. I'm in the dark here. Thanks!

Jean

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