Gooseberry Mildew - help please

if it shows signs again then spray with a suitable fungicide. remove any of the dropped leaves and pop into the household bin.

When I grew gooseberries and found mildew on them I sprayed with 1 part full cream milk to 9 parts water.
Also make sure the plants get plenty of air blowing through them and do not let them dry out.

You don't need to prune out affected branches. The damage looks drastic but the bushes usually bounce back - next year if not this. Once you've had it it will probably come back another year, but you can get resistant varieties - Greenfinch and Invicta are quite resistant - I've never had problems with them and I got it every year before. If it appears when the fruit is a useable size you can actually use it unless the damage is very bad. The coating will usually scrape off with your fingernail if you have the patience. (How did you guess I will do almost anything for a gooseberry...)

Thank you all, will spray and see what happens next year. my dad had a fantastic standard which we had 20lbs of fruit off last year. I have tried every gooseberry recipe in existence I think, but now we make gooseberry vodka which is fantastic. Parents moved house a few weeks ago so no more gooseberries unless I grow my own

If you want more its easy to root cuttings and train your own - just remove a short piece in autumn, strip off the bottom leaves and lower leaf buds and stick it in the ground. Bushes are easier to manage than standards. If you PM me in the autumn I'll send you a couple of bits of a mildew resistant variety.