No one knows non-chemical weed control like certified organic vegetable and flower growers. So when Editor Amy Hansen ran a photo essay on state-of-the-art weeders in NOFA-New Jersey’s summer newsletter, it was cause for serious study. The array of weapons in the Garden State growers’ war on weeds was truly awesome. It included everything from a 1-row Buddingh finger weeder and a 4-row belly-mounted basket weeder to tractor-mounted propane flame weeders. Even more impressive and educational, though, were the goofy-looking tractors on which these implements were mounted. Five of the six tractors pictured were all the same — just plain ugly, looking something like a big orange spider. The drivers are perched directly over the crops with a totally unobstructed, bird’s-eye view of the rows being cultivated. Their tractors don’t have a 3-point hitch or even a PTO. Most have no hydraulics.

They’re lightweights, tipping the scales at just 1,549 pounds. Each is powered, if you can call it that, by a 62-cubic inch rear-mounted engine that produces only 12 horsepower. While the organic growers of New Jersey own late model Kubotas, John Deeres and other popular brands, the tractor they consistently rely on for weed control is the classic Allis Chalmers G. The G hasn’t been made since Eisenhower’s first term as president, but when it comes to serious mechanical weed control in the truck patch, all agree that the G just can’t be beat. Companies such as Hefty, John Blue, Tuff-Bilt and Saukville have tried to beat it since the G went out of production in 1955. “So far, those people haven’t come up with a combination that even comes close to a G,” says Jim Corliss of Corvallis, Oregon. “I used to be the AC dealer here. We sold a ton of those things over the years. When they were first introduced the bean growers out here went completely ape over them. They’re kinda disappearing now, but these organic guys are going crazy over them. That’s where the big market is in them now.” There is a simple reason for that, says Fred Nurge of Vineland, New Jersey. “They are a good little tractor, although they’re getting very expensive to repair, not that anything else isn’t. They’re a good machine.” Nurge farms 50 acres of leeks, lettuce, cilantro, dill and other specialty crops conventionally _ with the help of five Gs. He has rebuilt the engines on four at a cost of about $1,500 each. “If you’re making a living with them you don’t want them to lay down on you when you need them,” he says. Nurge uses one G strictly for seeding and two others just for cultivation. Less than 30,000 Gs were made between 1948 and 1955. “Out of that, 15,000 or 18,000 of them are still in existence. It goes to prove that they didn’t junk too many of them,” adds Nurge, who also collects and restores old tractors, mostly Fords. “We love our G!” says Pam Flory, who raises four acres of fresh-cut flowers and a few vegetables at Spring Hill Farm in Hopewell, New Jersey. “I paid $2,000 for mine with hydraulic lift and only a toolbar. It’s well worth it and easy to maintain.” She bought the G last year from Jim Kinsel, a neighboring farmer and fellow NOFA member. Kinsel uses three Gs to plant and weed 40 acres of vegetables for his 1,000-member CSA. Pam’s G came with belly and rear-mount toolbars, but no cultivators. While she’s designing a cultivation system for her G, Pam uses a pair of hilling disks on it to lay plastic mulch. A friend just made a belly-mounted row marker for her by welding together some angle iron and three pieces of rebar. Jim Kinsel says the tractors sell for about $2,000, sometimes with and at other times without implements. “A cultivator can go for between $200 to $500 depending on the type and whim of the seller,” he said. “The mechanical condition of the tractor is the most important consideration. Specifically, the condition of the motor, since this would cost about $1,200 to rebuild. The transmissions can sometimes be a problem, but only on the special low gear transmission. The special low gear is nice to have for close cultivating with a basket weeder, but it is not essential.” Fred Nurge has experienced transmission problems with two of his five Gs. The problem, he explains, is caused by a snap ring in the transmission that holds bearings that hold the main shaft. Under enough stress, the ring cracks the transmission casing. That causes the shaft to move back and forth. As a result, the differential and ring gear chatter. To check for possible problems, Fred says put the gear shift in low. “Hold one hand on the handle and rock the tractor by a rear wheel. If the shift lever moves, you can bet you’re going to have problems with that snap ring.” Jim Corliss hasn’t experienced any transmission troubles. “They do break rear axles all the time, though,” he says, most often when the tractor begins lugging in a tight turn under a lot of power. “The other thing about these Gs is that with a gasoline engine a person can quickly get a lot of money wrapped up in a tractor that may still need more work.” That’s why Jim Corliss almost made a business out of his retirement hobby of remanufacturing Gs. He replaces the original Continental N-62 engine with a 22-hp Kubota diesel engine that carries a factory guarantee. That nearly doubles the tractor’s power. The diesel’s lugging power reduces axle breakage to about 5 percent, he says.

He also adds live hydraulics, belly-mount and rear cultivators, new axles, tires, brakes, seals, gaskets and many other items. He has remanufactured 102 Gs. The one he just finished carries a price tag of $7,250. He says he knows of other people rebuilding Gs in the St. Louis area, New York state and New Mexico. He is thinking about offering a kit that G owners can use to install new engines themselves. (Jim Corliss 33295 Peoria Rd., Corvallis, OR 97333; 541-753-8741.) Corliss says he has one of the largest stocks of G parts on the West Coast. Many parts are also available from Central Tractor and other regional and national farm supply companies, as well as used equipment dealers and tractor salvage yards. A shop manual for the G is included in the Allis Chalmers Shop Manual (AC-11) published by Intertec Publishing, P.O. Box 12901, Overland Park, KS 66282-2901 (www.itshopmanuals.com). You can also find parts suppliers, prices and other information on Gs at “Yesterday’s Tractors, antique tractor magazine and resource” on the world wide web at www.ytmag.com. It seems a good mechanic, professional or farmer-owner, is never very far from a working G. John Pendleton of Lawrence, Kansas, bought his second G from the head mechanic at a local John Deere dealer. “It has been just an absolutely wonderful machine for small, one-row farming,” he says. He uses his G on about three acres of seeded asparagus that he grows for crown production, as well as three acres of floral sunflowers, glass, and tuberoses.

John combines his G with a modern tractor-mounted rototiller. He bolts two small cultivator shovels or narrow spikes on the back flap of his tiller to mark out rows for planting. “It’s amazing how slick it works,” he says of the tiller-mounted markers. “It’s better than string, stakes and hoe. You can lay down a nice little trench.” Then he cultivates the rows with his G. “It’s the right size for doing one row at a time and to see what you’re doing when you’re cultivating. What a great improvement from either carrying a hoe or pushing a wheel hoe.” Dan Guenthner of Osceola, Wisconsin, farms 18 acres to supply a 220-member CSA in the Twin Cities area. “There is a rich history of market gardening here, and there are quite a few Gs in this area,” he says. “People come here looking for Gs. “Tractor collectors are a problem. They pay $2,500 or even $3,500 for a G, whether it’s running or not.” Growers throughout the country report similar problems. As a result, prices vary widely. Fully restored Gs may sell for $5,000 to even $10,000, depending on the quality of restoration, serial numbers (located on top of transmission in front of gear shift) and number of original implements included with the tractor. When it first came on the market in 1948, a G with no implements retailed for $640, according to Corliss, the retired Allis dealer. In its last production year (1955) the price was about $970. Implements for the G included a variety of cultivators, plows and planters, a sickle bar mower, a scraper-grader blade and even a front-mounted windrower and a hay rake. Because they are so much in demand by both farmers and collectors, just about any reasonably priced working G is considered a sound investment. “You won’t lose any money on it,” advises Jim Crawford, who uses two Gs on his vegetable farm in Hustontown, PA.

Repairs or improvements to a G are not always expensive. “We converted ours to hydraulic for about $50 using a combine hydraulic pump and a valve from a junkyard,” Dan Guenthner says. He even lengthened his G – to provide more legroom and to increase clearance for a basket weeder – simply by adding a 9-inch long steel spacer where the two tractor halves bolt together. He built a multi-purpose, multi-row cultivator for about $300. Since his G is a little temperamental to start, Guenthner boosted his available cranking amps by switching to an 8-volt marine battery that is compatible with the G’s 6-volt electrical system. As much as he likes his G, Guenthner admits that it is not perfect. “In my experience, people buy a G and think it is going to make things a lot easier. Then they realize the limitations of the G.” The biggest frustration for him is the time required to change and properly adjust implements. That is why he is building quick-clamp mounting systems with 2-inch diamond bar, so that tool bars and cultivators can be changed more quickly and easily. “I just don’t want to get into this trap of having multiple tractors,” he adds. All of the tools he needs to make adjustments in the field are carried in a toolbox on the tractor. “The G is a wonderful tool to start interns on,” he adds. “I really like it as a training tractor. In very few instances have interns gotten into trouble with it.” Turning from the completely practical, Guenthner offers a philosophical view of the G: “Ours is 50 years old and its usefulness hasn’t diminished. It has increased. How many other things do you buy like that? It’s making the bridge to the next generation of farmers and that is what’s exciting about having one and adapting one.” That may be a big part of why the G has fascinated farmers, collectors and others for decades. As Gene Logsdon put it in the mid-1970s in a book on tools for small farmers and homesteaders, “There is no handier machine ever made for cultivating the large truck garden. It will turn sharp enough to turn itself inside out, and can be maneuvered (from the seat hovering over the plants) so easily that you could tickle the potatoes in their hills without harming them.

No machine is designed to take attachments easier or can be repaired with less trouble. The G doesn’t wear out – and the only way to get one is to inherit it.” He’s only half kidding. But that may change soon. G buffs are looking forward to the day when the original G patent expires in the next few years. When that happens, they fully expect someone to begin building Gs again.