My mother and I have grown gooseberries from the same source material (probably was a leveller originally) in a number of gardens, dry, wet, alkaline, neutral, and we conclude that some places are just hostile to gooseberries, without being able to discern any obvious reason for it. They will grow in clay, in light soil, in wet places, in dry places. And then similar places they refuse to grow. Probably on balance they grow better in damp places (Cheshire being a famous gooseberry county) and mildew is a sign of drought stress. But we have grown them perfectly well in drier conditions on chalk hills in SE England, regularly abandoned by going on long holidays, without any cossetting or over-religious watering. But when they won't grow, there is no obvious reason. When they grow well, they don't need defending. When they are attacked, no defence is good enough.