I would suggest simply sowing the seeds over the top-broadcast them and leave them be. Freeze/thaw cycles over the winter will act to place the seeds in exactly the right position for spring germination. Do this after there is no chance of these seeds germinating anymore this year. In my area, that's roughly mid-October onward. Your Z6/7 location suggests it may be a bit later where you are.

+oM

Thank-you for your input! I will do as you suggest....however, I have a very active deer and kid population. The deer stomp everywhere and my kids...well, they're worse than the deer! So I still think covering the area (til Spring) w/burlap might help to at least keep the kids away! Is there any reason NOT to cover til Spring to further protect the seeds?

Thanks!

Interesting question. We do sometimes sow seed in late fall, sometimes known as "frost seeding". The objective is to sow the seed late enough in the year that there is no chance of germination until the following spring. Sometimes, depending on slope, etc. we may place erosion mats or other mulch over this seeding, so based on that, I'd say leaving the burlap in place over winter should be okay. The only caveat is that many seeds like some sunlight hitting them to spur germination. So there may be some impact there. Perhaps as light a type of burlap as possible wouild be best.

+oM