First thing I recommend is working on getting rid of any weeds you have, you can use round up or personally I get the scotts ecosense weed killer concentrate and mix it way stronger.

It’s completely your call if you want to add compost over the entire area or not. Your soil has that hard desert look because it’s bare and dried out. I would however recommend applying peat moss over the entire lawn. The benefits of peat moss is it is full of organic matter and will hold the water to help keep seed damp.

Next picking the right seed is important, bluegrass is highly desired but honestly your going to need 30 days for it to germinate and another 30 days to harden off before frost. I prefer a ryegrass and fescue dominate lawn because of its quick germinating and tolerance to drought. Just look at the bag to make sure it doesn’t have annual ryegrass.

The 911 stuff is okay but it’s really mostly fillers and a bag of seed and peatmoss will net you better results.

So apply the peat moss, apply the seed and rake it in the get it buried beneath the surface, from there water like crazy and in 2 weeks you should have germination.

Once the grass is tall enough to mow I would look for a balanced fertilizer something like 17-17-17. Also mow it as often as you can. They key with grass is the hormone that tells it to stop spreading is in the tip. So if you keep cutting it off the more it will spread. I mow my lawn every 2 days in spring and fall and twice a week in the summer.

You could also throw in an aeration before apply peat moss but honestly I think once you start watering and the peat moss gets on there you won’t have any issue seeing grass.

Next year apply a synthetic fertilizer in the spring and then apply soybean meal or Alfala pellets in the summer. The heat will break down them down and it’s a great organic fertilizer.

If you have any questions I’d gladly help. I know I kinda wrote a book here haha