I planted 25 Prime Jan blackberries and was surprised at the rapid growth. I bought them from Nourse Farms as cultured plugs. The looked like a small tube of roots with two leaves attached. I have picked a few and it seems that there are many that are growing well, but it seems they are a very late to ripen variety. The size is much bigger than I anticipated. I hope that they all ripen before the first frost. The ones I have harvested have been very good. Does anyone have Prime Jim and how do they compare with the Prime Jan? I am thinking of putting in a row of Prime Jim's?

For BEST results... PRE-primed = RE-prime! Factory primers aren't the best quality, and get dried-out too fast. Dirt from storage & transportation comes into play too. Soooo- Scuff-sand with 100-grit, remove all dust, re-prime with a top-notch primer. Zinsser's 123 is good and easy to find. >>> IF you're pretty fussy... Consider TWO prime-coats! This'll give ya a little cushion to sand the dried primer slightly (I'd suggest 120-grit here), making an IDEAL surface for a really smooth look! If ya do this, I'd wait half a day for the 2 coats to be sandable. Faron

The siding was installed in November and was caulked at that time. Unfortunately the temperatures dropped from 70 to 30 overnight and didn't warm up again until April. We live in Iowa so the siding has seen its share of rain & snow and now finally warm sunlight. It seems to look the same as the day it was installed other than being a little muddy near the foundation. Every painter that has been out to look at it has said that they will clean it well and apply two coats of paint. The only major discrepancy between the bids is whether they prime the whole thing or just spot prime the areas that are caulked or cut plus the cedar porch rails. Only one painter has wanted to prime the whole thing and his bid is $2100 more than the next guy. Money is definately tight right now as we just finished building and are still in the process of closing on our mortgage. I'd love to save the $2100 but then again its not worth it if it results in an inferior paint job and we end up having to redo it in a few years. Thanks for any advice you can give me.

Thank you for your reply. That is what I thought, just looking for professional confirmation!