# No-till

> No-till growing reuses living soil from cycle to cycle without turning or replacing it, cutting out the old root ball and replenishing with top-dressed amendments.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/no-till.html
- Also written: no till, notill, no-till growing, no-till bed, no-till pots
- Glossary category: Systems and media · Evidence: Grower practice
- Status: Draft: awaiting expert review · Updated: 2026-10-31
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), attribute "GenetixBay cannabis glossary"

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](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/living-soil.md), 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](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/top-dressing.md) 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](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/fungus-gnat.md), [root aphids](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/root-aphid.md)) 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.

## Related terms

[Living soil](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/living-soil.md), [Top dressing](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/top-dressing.md), [Mycorrhizae](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/mycorrhizae.md), [Companion planting](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/companion-planting.md)

## Read more

- [Living soil (no-till, water-only organic growing)](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/systems/living-soil.md)

## Sources

1. Brady NC, Weil RR, 2017. The Nature and Properties of Soils, 15th ed. Pearson.