Community Garden Plot Application Form

What is the community garden plot application form template?

Community gardens and allotments usually have more applicants than plots, so the waiting list needs to be fair and the information on it complete. This application records who's applying, where they live, what size of plot they'd like, whether they need an accessible bed, how often they could visit and how much growing experience they have.

The form adapts to each applicant. Schools and community groups give a group name and size; anyone needing an accessible bed describes what would help; beginners are offered a mentor; and anyone who can't afford the annual fee can ask to be considered for a reduced one.

Each application is filed as a dated PDF in your FileIt vault, so allocating plots in order of application is simple, and the applicant's agreement to the garden rules is on record.

Best for: Community gardens, allotment societies, councils, housing associations and urban farms
Filled in by: Residents, households or community groups
Time to complete: About 6 minutes
Includes: Individual or group applicants, plot size, accessible beds, visit frequency, experience and mentor offer, garden rules

Who uses a community garden plot application form?

An allotment society managing a long waiting list
A council opening a new community growing space
A housing association offering raised beds to residents
A school or youth group applying for a shared plot
An urban farm recruiting volunteer growers
A church or community centre starting a garden on its land

Questions on this community garden plot application form

25 questions over 4 pages · includes conditional questions, multiple pages, consent checkbox.

1 About you

Your name*
Email*
Phone
Home address*
Applying as* An individual or household · A school or youth group · A charity or community group
Name of the group* asked only when it applies
Roughly how many people will garden? asked only when it applies
Anyone else who'll share the plot

2 Your plot

Plot size* Raised bed (about 1.2 m × 2.4 m) · Half plot · Full plot · Whichever is available first
Would you share a plot with another applicant to get one sooner?
Do you need an accessible or waist-height bed?*
Tell us what would help asked only when it applies
When could you start?
How often could you tend the plot?* Several times a week · Once or twice a week · Every other week · Less often
Have you had a plot here before?

3 Experience & plans

Your growing experience* Complete beginner · Some experience (pots, a small garden) · Experienced grower
Would you like to be paired with an experienced gardener? asked only when it applies
What would you like to grow? Vegetables · Herbs · Fruit or berries · Flowers · Plants for pollinators
Growing approach Organic only · Mostly organic · No preference
Could you help with the shared garden? Work days · Composting · Watering rota · Events and open days · Committee
Why would you like a plot?

4 Garden rules

Are you able to pay the annual plot fee?*
Would you like to be considered for a reduced fee? asked only when it applies
Garden rules*
Waiting list*

The community garden plot application form, page by page

1 About you

Applicants give their name, email, phone and home address, and say whether they're applying as an individual or household, a school or youth group, or a charity or community group. Groups are asked for their name and size. There's space to name a co-gardener who'll share the plot.

2 Your plot

Applicants choose a raised bed, half plot, full plot or whichever is available first, and say whether they'd share a plot to get one sooner. Needing an accessible or waist-height bed opens a question about what would help. The page also covers a start date, how often they could tend the plot and whether they've had a plot before.

3 Experience & plans

Applicants describe their growing experience; complete beginners are asked whether they'd like an experienced gardener as a mentor. They tick what they'd like to grow, choose a growing approach, offer help with shared tasks such as work days, composting and the watering rota, and say why they'd like a plot.

4 Garden rules

A summary of the rules is shown, then applicants say whether they can pay the annual fee — answering no offers a reduced fee. Two required consents cover agreeing to the rules and being added to the waiting list.

Make the template yours

Replace the rules paragraph with your own rules, or link to them
Change the plot sizes and add the annual fee for each to the option labels
Add a postcode or neighbourhood question if priority depends on where people live
Remove the reduced-fee question if your plots are free
File applications into a waiting-list folder, then move them when a plot is allocated

Tips for a better community garden plot application form

Allocate in order of the submission date on each PDF — it keeps the waiting list visibly fair
Offer shared plots to people who say yes; it clears the waiting list faster
Pair beginners with mentors in their first season; it's when most plots get abandoned
Keep accessible beds for applicants who need them
Contact people on the list once a year to check they're still interested

Every response becomes a PDF in your vault

Each application is saved as a PDF in your chosen vault folder and you get an email notification. Applicants receive a copy if you've turned that on.

Use the Responses table to sort by date, filter by plot size or accessible beds, and export to CSV to manage the waiting list.

Start from this template. It opens in the FileIt Forms designer — change any question, add pages, set the rules for when questions appear.
Share it. Turn on a public link, or send it to people by email, each with their own link. They don’t need a FileIt account.
Get the answers as PDFs. Each response is saved as a PDF in the vault folder you choose, with uploaded files attached — and listed in a Responses table you can export to CSV.

Use the community garden plot application template — it’s free