1. Is the grass area irrigated?  If so how?  How often?
   
2. What kind of soil do you have (clay?  rocky?  other?)
   
3. What kind of grass is growing there now?
   
4. How weedy is the area?
   

Mari,

Thank you for your response. Here are my responses.

1.       Is the grass area irrigated? If so how? How often? I try to water it once a month with sprayer, the kind that rotates.

2.       What kind of soil do you have (clay? rocky? other?) There is some clay yet I have put a ton, literally, of top soil on it over 18 years, especially when cracks have developed using claybuster or other similar products

3.       What kind of grass is growing there now? It is all native grass, not sure what time. Some of the seeds we got from Jeffco in Lakewood. See attached photos.

4.       How weedy is the area? Not very, as we are pretty good about pulling them with their roots.

Brian

• The native landscape beyond your split rail fence appears to be a 'Mixed Foothill Shrubland' community of plants, while your yard plantings tend toward more of a 'Woodlands' community. See pages 27 and 28 of the Native Plant Revegetation Guide for Colorado:  https://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/CNAP/RevegetationGuide.pdf.   Since we currently don't know the identification of the native grasses in your upper yard, I suggest planting a seed mix that spans the two plant communities. An example of this is the 'Foothills Native Mix' from Pawnee Buttes Seed, Inc.:  https://pawneebuttesseed.com/pbsi-mixes/pbsi-foothills-native-mix/; or Rocky Mountain Native Mix from Arkansas Valley Seed https://www.avseeds.com/pg/products/reclamation-native-grass-species/22/ .  Purchasing quality seed will be slightly more expensive, but typically better in the long run due to higher germination rates and lower percentage of weed seeds. Seed can be purchased online or at some local nurseries (list on website).
• Use a planting strategy as detailed in publications from CSU Extension's Small Acreage Management organization:

Page 4 of https://sam.extension.colostate.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/07/10-winter.pdf or

Page 1 of https://sam.extension.colostate.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/07/15-fall.pdf

1. Select and purchase seed soon.  Seed can be planted up til about May 1, or after Nov 1.
2. Prepare the seedbed (you have already amended) by lightly tilling or by aerating (at least 2" deep and in multiple directions to try to achieve holes 2" on center).
3. Immediately after preparing the soil, plant seed, broadcasting at twice the recommended rate for seed drilling (See page 4 reference above).  Unless you have access to a seed  drill, then use that at the recommended rate.
   
4. If desired, apply compost or straw mulch no deeper than 1/4 inch to buffer moisture and temperature.
   
5. Keep seedbed moist until seeds germinate.  Then water regularly until established.  Spring rains may help with this.
   
6. As much as possible, keep pup off the germinating grass - difficult, I know.  The native grasses in these mixes are pasture/forage grasses, so will be fairly resiliant once established.
   
7. If the seed packages have directions that differ from the one's I've given, follow the package label.
   
8. No fertilization needed - they're natives!
   

• Web page for Small Acreage management has an index to other useful resources:  https://sam.extension.colostate.edu/topics/pasture-range/.
• Seed Source Information:  http://cmg.colostate.edu/Gardennotes/566.pdf
• Index to Native Plants resources, including a good one on native grasses:  http://cmg.colostate.edu/pubs/NativePlants.html.