On Fri, 7 Mar 2003 11:14:08 -0800, "Li Hao" wrote:

Hi, I just bought a house last fall at San Francisco Bay area. The lawn at
backyard is full of weeds, and the size of the lawn is about 1500sq. And
only about 1/4 of the lawn has good grass. I am not an expert by any means
in gardens and lawns. And I want to renovate this lawn by myself. So I am
seeking help here.

I think I have 2 options:
1. Use weeds killer spray to kill the weeds;
2. Plow the lawn, then reseed;

For the first one, someone told me that using too much chemicals is not good
to soil and my own health. And for the second one, people told me that I
need to throw away those plowed soil otherwise the weeds will grow back with
new grass.

If someone can give me some advice on how I should proceed except for hiring
a professional, I'd really appreciate. Thanks!

Without seeing your lawn it's hard to give good advice. But, killing
weeds and sowing seed do not go together. Find out what kind of weeds
are there. Find out the best time to overseed in your zone. Find out
when weeds are actively growing in your area. Also, find out the
best kind of grass seed for your area. Good decisions are very much
time-based. Look at the best lawns in your area, give the owners a
complement, and find out how they care for their lawn. Also,
consider the drought conditions. All of this is locally determined,
so your best bet is to visit a nursery in the SF area.