Greenhouse vs hydroponics?

We over winter an assortment of semi tropical plants inside our house
Examples
https://balconygardenweb.com/cold-hardy ... d-climate/

And have decent success.

The smaller plants survive thru the use of traditional grow lights
And the bigger ones in a sunny two storey south facing window

In the Spring we start some seeds indoors for our annual Herb & Veggie Garden

We start them primarily using a hydroponic system
When we first began this exercise ... we started out using a Miracle-Gro Aerogarden
I suggest if you are new to winter indoor garden ... it might be a good place to start

We found that the hydroponic garden worked well...
Maybe too well, as the plants can quickly overwhelm the space they reside in

Which is why ... we now use this as a seed starting system in late Winter
Before moving the seedlings into individual Peat pots in planting soil specifically designed for seed starting / seedlings
Once the daytime temps improve ... everything gets moved outside to harden off during mid-day hours

IF we had a greenhouse (Even a small portable one) ... it would provide additional protection for our plants
Earlier & later in the season
Something we are certainly considering now we are retired and have more time to pursue our gardening hobby

But ya ... short of living in Southern BC or around Niagara
It’s pretty difficult to get anything to winter over in an outside greenhouse
And even in those “banana belt” locations ... it still requires a lot of time & energy to ensure things do survive

For us ... the savings are definitely recouped by not having to rebuy seedlings each Spring to get our outdoor garden going every year
Where seedlings / bigger plants / or semi tropicals can run anywhere from $ 2 per pot (a herb) ... thru to up to $ 12+ a pot (established peppers) ... on to $ 20 - $ 50 per tropical
The other benefits are well established plants that produce herbs / fruits / veggies both sooner & longer thru our otherwise short Cdn Growing Season would allow
I have had for example Tomatoes as early as April / May ... and as late as October / November
To me that’s more than worth the effort / cost

leafsnation98765 wrote: ↑ do you mean upstairs? I wonder if a basement room would be too cold because I'm building a house and hopefully the structure for the south facing window will be in place.

I'm not so concerned re the cost of the gro lights etc but more about the environmental impact I have.

Sorry, guess I wrote that assuming it’s would be understood that the 2 storey window was upstairs
It’s our family room ... which is open concept
So tons of light

The majority of our indoor gardening though happens in a finished area in the basement (utility room / storage room)
Under grow lights
Cuz it’s designed as useable living space it never is too cold in the winter (we keep upstairs at ~20 C / 70 F )

Environmental impact ... in this situation is debatable (a trade off)
Growing plants (especially food) is always good for the environment
You’ve got the positives that they bring to the air
As well as the fact that by growing your own food you know it’s more healthy / organic / limited chemicals
Plus ... the lesser footprint cuz you are not buying as many veggies that are trucked far & wide
The downside though is the electricity it takes to keep an indoor winter garden going
Just a fact of life though here in Canada with our short outdoor growing season
You can offset some of the negatives by using LED Fixtures & Timers
I still strongly believe the positives win in this equation
But maybe not everyone does