No your thinking about it correctly, to my understanding once that hits above the soil line it dies. Another good reason for a mulch layer in place. I could have that mixed up with a different biological system, but that's my understanding of it so far. No till grows were meant to not disturb the fungi system. But you'd really have to have a large and healthy soil for this to take ground, I'm not saying it can't be done, but really a stretch to do in these smaller pots, compared to the 4x2 (and up)
above ground living soil beds. With these smaller pots of 5 to 7 gallons, probably could be done with a good compost teas and help. I'm still learning too.