India, Sept. 20 -- It started innocently enough with social media reels. Videos of urban dwellers growing everything from coriander to tomatoes in tiny pots sparked a curious thought: Could a complete novice manage it too?

Without a natural "green thumb" or any prior enthusiasm for soil and seeds, the idea of growing something homegrown still felt strangely worth trying.

After endless scrolling, action finally replaced browsing. Finding a small vacant pot around the house one morning, a few fennel seeds were randomly tossed in-no great expectations attached. The seeds seemed entirely likely to ignore the gesture.

Yet a few days later, a routine glance at the pot revealed tiny, verdant leaves making a confident debut through the soil. T...