Mouldy Gooseberries?

[d000hg]

I just bought and planted a small gooseberry bush a week ago - I guess it's 1-2 years old as it's about a foot tall but quite bushy. It was already coming into fruit as I planted, just, and these are growing quite nicely.

But I noticed while otherwise looking good and healthy, they are all covered in this white layer which to me looks like mould. It scrapes off easily with a fingernail to leave a nice green smooth surface underneath - you can see this in the photo.

Do you agree it's mould and if so what do I do... the fruit are about pea-sized so far so do I treat them or throw them away? The plant itself seems in fine health from what I can see.

[DiggerSean]

Looks like powdery mildew to me.

[roitelet]

If you are 'green' try spraying them with very diluted half fat milk or if not a fungicide.

[d000hg]

If you are 'green' try spraying them with very diluted half fat milk or if not a fungicide.

I found that via Google, does the milk thing really work? I tried the washing-up liquid for aphids last year and it didn't do squat so I'm a little dubious!

Will mildew stay forever once its caught, or will the current hot sunny weather cause it to fade away like athlete's foot does if you keep your feet dry?!

[roitelet]

It's the hot sunny weather wot does it! A nice bit of damp will get rid of it. The milk thing does work as does the soap for greenfly but you will have to spray more than once. Things that you only need to use once are systemic and not very green.