The raised beds are making gardening a little easier. And, I have not had to buy gas for the tiller. That is a good thing since we know in the future things will be more difficult. We can learn to garden without tilling open ground also. Where the soil needs a lot of amending, the raised beds seem to be a good choice.
I got a good buy on some redwood 2x6s, so I put together a new bed yesterday. Leveling the ground was the hardest and took the most time in creating the raised bed. But, if you have not tried making one, it is very easy. Buy three 8 foot 2x6s. Cut one in half, Home Depot will do it for you. You now have your sides and end pieces. I lay them out on the ground to get the dimensions on the ground, to know where it must be leveled. When I get the ground close, I then place two or three screws in each corner and finish the leveling. You can double dig before or after, or you don't need to dig at all. I think you will be better off digging down if you have enough good replacement soil to go deeper with it. Or if your soil is good, then double digging is going to loosen it up.
In my other beds, I placed chicken wire on the bottom to keep out the gophers. I did not on this bed. We will see how it works. I never used chicken wire on my open bed gardens, and did not have a lot of trouble with gophers even though they make a mess in the lawn.