Should this go on r/permaculture or r/gardening?

This is my first garden. It used to be my uncle’s and he already tilled a few years back. Do I need to till now? I know it’s not the best for the environment and I’m sure it’s not cheap to rent a rototiller. If I don’t till, what do I do then? There’s too much information online. Why can’t I just dig a hole and plant? Why do I have to add cardboard or mulch or compost? Where am I going to get all that stuff? What is the point of putting wet cardboard and newspapers into of the earth and dump mulch or compost on top of it?