Gooseberry questions

[Fluff]

Hello, I'm new here and hoping your wealth of knowledge can help me out!

We moved to this house a year ago and the only thing on our heavy clay veg patch was 3 gooseberry bushes.

I've no idea what variety they are they are planted about 2 feet apart and consequently look like one very long bush.

I don't think they've ever been pruned so are very very 'bushy'.

Last year they succomed to sawfly and we got 9 berries, this year so far the sawfly has not been a problem but mildew has.

My question (at last!) is should/can I seperate the bushes? The end two are healthier, the middle one looks a little weedy. Also should I give them a really hard prune and if so when? At the moment new bits are shooting up all over the place under the plant and all the pictures I've seen show very neat shrubs.

Thanks!

[Farmer_Gyles]

sawfly - use an ordinary bug spray - sawfly comes 2 or 3 times a year so watch out!
birds - it's the birds that steal the berries - cover the bushes with netting to keep the birds out
mildew - you can cut out any bits affected by mildew - gooseberry bushes are pretty tough - mine have had mildew and are still producing
spacing - 3 together to make one large bush is probably fine, not likely to do any harm - but as with everything else, you could improve yield per plant by careful spacing and pruning etc
pruning - from the bbc gardening website:

A gooseberry bush becomes tangled and unhealthy without pruning. Good management means keeping the centre open to air and sunlight, leaving a few, regularly-spaced, main branches.

In winter, prune out dead or diseased stems, and any crossing in the centre. Cut back to a young shoot. Thin overcrowded areas and prune drooping stems to an upright sideshoot. Shorten new growth by half to maintain an acceptable size.

i have 3 bushes at home, all been attacked by mildew and sawfly every year - i haven't pruned much although have taken out some of the worst mildew and the centres are wide open - they are very scraggy and untidy but still produce fruit which is normally snapped up by the birds before i get any

i have 2 large bushes on my allotment, both about 3ft wide by 3ft high, fairly rounded shape - the centres are not open but they look good and producing a lot of fruit

[Snadger]

I have gooseberries about 4 foot apart and they still get entangled. Maybe yours was originally a single plant that layered itself? ( they do this quite easily where a branch touches the soil)

Once I've taken cuttings I would like to try growing some as standards on a single leg which should keep the fruit and branches away from the ground!

Likewise with whitecurrants!