Busboy,
Your just being a jerk.
Lawn clippings are pure nitrogen.
Weeds will get into your lawn no matter what.
Take a chill pill. LOL!

"Lawn clippings are pure nitrogen.
Weeds will get into your lawn no matter what. "

Show me the research that supports these comments. Tissue testing can easily disprove your first statement. As for your second statement, I can go to many different locations around the world where there are weed-free lawns and athletic fields.

Busboy: You are NOT being a jerk. I hate seeing grass clippings in the street, knowing that a little forethought by the operator could prevent such a scenario. Or even after the mowing is completed, take a minute to blow or sweep the clippings off the pavement. I've seen people who will take the time to clean off their driveway, but not touch the clippings on the street.

Honestly you are being a bit of a jerk. Stuff happens the wind will blow it so will the cars, just relax and don't worry abt it at least they are taking care of their lawn. There are more important things to worry about don't be so uptight.

Honestly you are being a bit of a jerk. Stuff happens the wind will blow it so will the cars, just relax and don't worry abt it at least they are taking care of their lawn. There are more important things to worry about don't be so uptight.

Just how would it be illegal? If that were true every city, county, and state road maintenance government crew would be guilty. When was the last time you ever seen a city, county, or state road crew bagging or mulching their clippings mowing highway and road right-of-ways. How many landscaping companies do you see bagging clippings?

Fact is if you do bag or mulch your clippings and have the best looking yard in your area makes you an ELITIST, and you have no right to expect other people to hold your values. What you are doing with your yard is neither right or wrong. But expecting other people to do what you want is wrong. They just have different values and most likely do not have the same disposable income you have to blow on their yards.

The fact that I am a jerk is not in question. I already know that, I'm just not trying to appear like one!
In truth I really don't care about clippings in the street but I was curious about the spread of seed from the practice. Several years ago I renovated my lawn and had a nice stand of fescue. Now burmuda grass has invaded big time and I am going to have to kill and renovate again. In terms of legality, many locales DO have ordinance against the practice of clippings in the street (not mine) due to storm drain problems. A landscaper worth his salt will not leave clippings in the street and will be smart enough to mow in such a way as to not have to blow off the street (per several landscapers). Anyhow, thanks for the imput!

"The only problem with my marriage is my wife's husband is an a**hole!"

I was curious about the spread of seed from the practice.

OK good point but Moot. Wind, birds, bugs, varmints, critters, rain, lawn care companies, and pedestrians will do far more contamination.

Get a gun and shoot all of them. :>)

I agree that to just have the clippings go into the street is a sign that the guy doing the lawn is the jerk...not you.
Its like the guy who clips the edge of a cut-out portion of a tree where some flowers have been planted and he, using the mower doesn't think to turn the mower around so that the clippings go out into the lawn...instead, he drowns the flowers in them. Or the guy who, using a weed-whacker, thinks a clematis is nothing and promptly cuts it down to the ground instead of showing some care what the homeowner prides herself in.

When wet, clippings can make a hellofa mess to a street when vehicles go over them.

For anybody's edification......clippings are indeed nitrogen better put into a compost bin if not left on the lawn.

"For anybody's edification......clippings are indeed nitrogen better put into a compost bin if not left on the lawn."

Just to be perfectly clear on the facts:

While it is true that grass clippings contain some amount of nitrogen, nitrogen is only one component of the content in a grass blade. The major component in a blade of grass is water. If you're truly interested, or serious, about turfgrass nutrition, take a sample of grass blade clippings to a qualified lab for a tissue analysis. I do it 6-8 times a year. You might be surprised by the results. The nutrients you put into the soil don't always make it into the grass plant. That is why we foliar feed to supplement granular feeding.

I will agree that the best scenario of mowing is to mulch mow, leaving the clippings on the lawn.

Grass clippings are extremely dangerous to motorcyclists, wet or dry. A patch of grass clippings in the road is like a patch of ice, especially if it's around a curb and the rider doesn't have time to see it and slow down. Grass clippings have been responsible for at least two motorcycle deaths this year alone, and the folks who left them in the road can be cited or sued. It actually is illegal in many areas to leave grass in the street, and many more jurisdictions are looking into making it illegal due to the danger.

• https://www.kwqc.com/content/news/Illinois-man-cited-for-grass-clippings-in-road-after-fatal-motorcycle-crash-512133281.html
• https://www.wpsdlocal6.com/2019/04/09/friends-of-man-killed-in-crash-raising-awareness-of-dangers-motorcyclists-face-on-the-road/
• https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/news/verify-is-it-legal-to-throw-grass-clippings-in-the-street/83-562811180 
• https://patch.com/illinois/joliet/plainfield-woman-injured-motorcycle-wreck-claims-discarded-grass-clippings-caused-crash-lawsuit

I always assume that when I see a bunch of grass clipping in the street, that the one who mowed the lawn wants to advertise that he finally got around to mowing mowing his lawn.

If you are going to spend a lot of time and money on making your yard look nice, WHY would you blow the clippings into the street, and make the whole neighborhood look unkempt. Especially when it is so easy to make the initial passes blowing into the uncut portion of your yard?

As a matter of a fact I mow the entire lawn so that the clippings are blown into the uncut area. I never have to collect the grass clippings on the yard or piles of brown grass.

It always puzzled me, why you would collect the grass clippings, then spend money to bring in top soil, mulch, etc. to improve the condition of the soil. The grass clippings work just as well and return the nutrients the lawn needs to grow to the yard. Have you ever noticed how good the grass looks around a drain where the clippings collect?

Grass clippings are extremely dangerous to motorcyclists, wet or dry.

Waaaaay off the point.

As for weed seeds spreading by blowing clippings onto the street, it might happen. As was pointed out 7 years ago, weed seeds are spread by many vectors. Whether YOUR lawn gets actual weed seed germination and rooting is a function more of how you take care of the lawn. Proper watering, mowing, and fertilizing will give you a dense lawn that resists the germination and rooting of most common weeds even if the seeds are sitting right on the soil. I remember one previous post from someone who had just started mowing his lawn high. He said that his neighbor's crabgrass lawn came right up to the edge of his lawn and stopped all by itself without the aid of any herbicides. Crabgrass likes full sun. If it has to compete in the shade of a tall grass, it will not go there. Crabgrass seed also needs frequent watering to germinate. If you are watering deeply and infrequently, then it is less likely you will see crabgrass. Of course Mother Nature might have other ideas about how frequently it gets watered.

“Waaaaay off the point.”

Umm, not really, since the original poster mentioned the motorcycle danger in the first post.

This is a lawn care forum, so that's where I was coming from.

Holy Resurrection, Batman! A 6 year old thread brought back to life!

I think Celeste's comment was a good public service announcement. I never thought about clippings and motorcycles.

Also, Celeste holds the record for avatar photo changes. She's even faster than Lisa!