That is early! Some of mine are only just through, and I'm still worrying about late frost.
At the risk of adding another pessimistic comment, I inspected my gooseberries this morning and while they are currently growing strong and looking very healthy, I could see a fair number of adult sawfly on the bushes especially on the new growth. Most annoying.
Any tips on coping with either problem? I could earth up my second earlies so if under the soil they might avoid the blight? Also with sawfly should I try to eradicate the adults or spray against the caterpillars?