no access to git from your production app box? still want to use git to deploy so you are dealing in SHAs/clones and not timestamps/tars? access your repo using a reverse ssh tunnel!

deploy.rb

# config/deploy.rb

$: << File.expand_path('../../lib', __FILE__)
require 'capistrano_hacks/reverse_tunnel'

set :scm, :git
set :local_repository, '.'
set :reverse_tunnel_port, 52222
set :repository, Capistrano::Hacks.tunneled_repository_url(self)
set :ssh_options, { :forward_agent => true }

reverse_tunnel.rb

# lib/capistrano_hacks/reverse_tunnel.rb

require 'etc'

module Capistrano
  module Hacks
    def self.tunneled_repository_url(configuration)
      user = Etc.getlogin
      path = Dir.pwd
      host = 'localhost'
      port = configuration.fetch(:reverse_tunnel_port)
      "ssh://#{user}@#{host}:#{port}#{path}"
    end
  end

  # Monkey patch the connection factory to make the tunnel
  class Configuration
    module Connections
      class DefaultConnectionFactory #:nodoc:
        def connect_to(server)
          connection = SSH.connect(server, @options)
          connection.forward.remote_to(22, 'localhost', @options.fetch(:reverse_tunnel_port))
          connection
        end
      end
    end
  end
end