I think when grown as annuals they are planted in fall and fruited the next spring. That is the system I used in a hot part of CA. Planting now they may not have time to make a crop this spring. That will leave you facing the heat with a crop some ways off.

A soil test would be helpful but in general I'd use a mixed fertilizer on the order of 3-1-2 ratio.

I'm still unsure about all of this. Strawberries are easy in a lot of places. I planted 1/2 acre of Ozark Beauty in central Tennessee back in the 1970's, and made an excellent crop the second year. By the third they evidenced red steele and the yield was too low to be worthwhile. That was in a commercial pick-your-own area, pH 5.5 soil, and the advice was no nitrogen in the Spring if you want fruit that year.

From reading a few articles on the web, you see recs of 5-10-10 or 10-10-10 to get the plants started, then pick off flowers the first year and go for a matted row in year two. I know that this is not what they do around Houston or in Florida, because it's a one-year crop. Everything is delivered through drip irrigation under plastic.

In my case, the soil is already fertile as the onions were mulched with compost, and I plan to transplant without baring the roots. These are everbearers, so the blooms should keep coming if I keep them watered. May put shade cloth overhead before intense summer sun overheats them.

I guess that there's no simple answer about fertilizer, but thanks for your response.

Last year I planted a few strawberries as a test on February 13 here in central Texas. I planted in soil with plenty of added compost and did not use any other fertilizers. I got good numbers of strawberries throughout April and May; after that, it got too hot for them and I eventually pulled them out for something else. If your summers are not brutally hot, you might be able to get them through the summer. Around here, though, most people use the annual production system and it seems to work well. The recommended varieties in central Texas are "June bearers" (which will probably actually fruit before June in Texas).

This season I planted more strawberries - some in Sept and October and some in January - so will be able to see how fall planting versus winter planting works here.

I planted 6 different kinds last Spring, and several lived and made increase, but Eversweet from Womack's "the only strawberry which can stand the summer heat in Texas" was the one variety that actually did well. 25 plants made a 3' wide matted row which now needs thinning out. It didn't make a lot of berries last summer, and they were small compared to my Tennessee-grown Ozark Beauties.

Of course, last Spring and Summer and Fall had no rain at all, and it was above 100 degrees more days than not. Which is pretty unusual here in East Texas.