After growing this way (no till) for some years I think it's safe to say the soil needs a good amount of N in whatever form. Along with feeding our plants, the microbes are always breaking down old roots. And that takes energy, N gives energy.
Not sure what was going on in your garden. Are you saying things went sour when you put rooted clones/cuts/plants in the bigger pots? Going in big pots my young plants are typically root bound and take right off after transplant. At this time I feed fish, alfalfa and neem in teas. I top dress crab meal, neem meal, and kelp meal. Every few cycles I top dress rock dust and gypsum. In a week or two my transplants fill a scrog screen and go into flower.
In my experience after a few cycles everything just kind of clicks and things goes real well. But if you found a different groove that works for you, sure go for it.
After starting with miracle grow 20+ plus years ago, I've been growing organic cannabis about 10 years I think. And indoors since 09. Probably 6 years no till. I used 2 mixes for all my no till. Not including adding compost frequently, I've only mixed soil twice and the last time was this year, mostly to use nicer pots and partly to mix in bio char. So this is my groove, I guess.