On Mars you have soil you can process into something plants can use (note: needs to be washed free of its perchlorate contamination first) whereas at the South Pole there is no soil that is not buried under hundreds of meters of ice. You can't just create a heated greenhouse on top of the ice because it will melt the ice underneath.
They've already done tests where they've grown plants in Martial soil simulant.
They've already done tests where they've grown plants in Martial soil simulant.