There is an example of a good use of tilling. Otherwise, why stir up trouble?

Leftwood said: If you are planting wam weather crops - tomatoes, beans, peppers, cucurbits, corn, eggplant, etc. then you can wait for spring to till at an appropriate time.

If you plant early crops - lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, radish, beets, carrots, spinach, cabbage, peas, onions, etc., then it's better to till in the fall to be ready in the early spring.

Early spring is too wet in my garden to prepare soil for earliest crops- till (or at least rake off) in fall

Mikegu3 said: can I leave those tomatoes on the ground and till them into the soil

I do.
Sometimes in the fall, but most often I don't get around to it until spring. Unused tomatoes, zucchini, pumpkins, apples- They won't decompose much over the winter- and will be very messy (mushy) in the spring- but I have boots!

My perferred method is a compost pile for all the garden waste, including unused veggies and fruit, and I add to the pile and turn it, both spring and fall- distributing the fines back to the garden rows.