Hi Fourwinds
I think your answer depends on your field's burden of docks, nettles and thistles.
If you haven't got a heavy burden, then I suggest you look at the Plantlife Keep the Wild in Wildflower leaflet which has a decision tree re natural regeneration v seeding, and having looked at that and chosen your way forward, carry on this autumn, so your seeds will benefit from the winter cold triggering germination.
https://www.plantlife.org.uk/applicatio ... AQ_WEB.pdf
If you still have or ever had a heavy burden of docks and thistles, it would be worth waiting a little longer to reduce them to a minimum which would save you hours and hours of work digging out or spot spraying in future.
Sowing at nature's own time is usually a good thing. I'm dropping ripe seeds of meadow vetchling and bush vetch from the hedgerows onto bare ground right now. I'll sow knapweed later when it is ripe.
Perhaps some one else will answer on the raking and rolling point. You probably still have plenty of bare earth left from the spring. Treading in by human or beast is always recommended on the Plantlife and the Moor Meadows website help and information pages. Rolling is probably a good idea for a large area if you are not compacting the soil by doing so in wet conditions. An old saying for seed sowing is "One for wind and one for crow, one to die and one to grow."
PS
Just discovered and heartily recommend the excellent Herefordshire Meadows talk: Principles of Creating Flower Rich Meadows - it discusses how vital preparation is, and recommends waiting a year in some cases to control the weeds, principles of sowing if you need to introduce seeds - light needed for germination so sow on the top of the soil - do not bury, and looking after the seedlings over the first autumn and winter.
https://www.herefordshiremeadows.org.uk ... h-meadows/
and their schedule/calendar of meadow restoration:
https://www.herefordshiremeadows.org.uk ... ife-HM.pdf
I expect someone else will comment further.
