No-till is a soil-management approach borrowed from regenerative farming: the soil is not dug, mixed or replaced between crops. Old roots are left to decompose in place (or the stem is cut at the surface), fresh amendments are top-dressed and mulched, and the soil food web, including fungal networks, stays intact.
In practice
Indoor no-till usually uses large fabric beds or containers, often 100 L or more per plant, with mulch, cover crops and sometimes worms. Between crops, the grower cuts the stem, top-dresses compost and amendments, and replants into the same soil. Benefits claimed are improving structure and biology over time, less labour and less waste. The risk is building up pests (fungus gnats, root aphids) or pathogens, which a fresh medium would remove.
Evidence for no-till benefits is strong in field agriculture; for indoor cannabis it is mostly grower practice.
Don't confuse with
- Reusing soil: recycling old mix by remixing and amending it; tilling counts as disturbance.
- Living soil: no-till is a way of managing living soil.
