Best to lift turf when the ground is dry otherwise as you've discovered you are lifting the soil as well.

Aha :-) to keen to get started
Cheers

Remember to use the spade to cut lines through the turf and then lift each individual square.

It's hard work, isn't it? I agree with MG about lifting it dry. This is going to sound daft, I know, but I find that if I cut a square with the spade, as MG says, not too big, then use an old knife to lift a good bit of a corner, I can usually hand rip the remains of the square off in one piece, without getting too much earth with it, as I would just using the spade. I know, I know..... But it works for me!

The good old turf trowel is best, and avoids all that back ache the day after!!

If you don't have a turfing iron, use a half moon edger - its sharper than a spade. Cut the edge first in the shape you want, pushing the turf up and over. Then go back and cut larger areas of turf left on the intended new planting area into smaller sections and lift with the edger. Funnily enough, that's exactly what I've been doing today.... I always chop the back of the pieces of turf up a bit, without breaking it, to get off as much soil as possible before stacking what remains face down in a heap in a corner to rot down.

Drat forgot the half moon edger as we lent ours permanently to a neighbour once we'd removed all our grass!

its good to use a hosepipe for shape as it gives easily a nice natural flowing shape .good for a new path ect to .

that or a piece of rope NP

yes definatly mg