Whenever I've grown anything in the ground, it's always flourished. Not so successful at potted plants, but I still try 
If you aren't aware of them (and I would think you would be) the Rodale Institute is a wonderful resource for organic farmers. I just watched a video on their Crops & Soil page showing how they do no-till organic farming with a cover crop. It's pretty fascinating, but would guess the machinery would be rather expensive, especially if you're already invested in a tiller.
You might also find a copy of the book "Secrets of the Soil". It's the second book from the authors that wrote "The Secret Life of Plants" and has plenty of information in it about the soil, biodynamic farming, and the "truth" about weeds. In fact, there's an online book on weeds and farming (with the same title as that chapter) called "Weeds - Guardians of the Soil". The hosting site has a good online library for small farmers, too.
I wish you good growing energy and more rain! 
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