The desktop unit is going to contain a tank with water and the plants. I'm planning to make it a deep water culture, but that might still change. Above that are some LED grow lights, which I'm planning to make from red and blue LED stripes.

The water tank contains a pump to get water to the desktop unit(s), as well as sensors to measure the water quality. Ideally, it can automatically adjust any situations, e.g. by adding more nutrients or pH-adjusting solution, as well as refilling the tank with fresh water.

There will be a controlling unit, maybe with an LCD to show the current status, and then some kind of web application for more details and the possibility to adjust the settings of the system, such as the amount of light the plants should yet or the amount of nutrients.

There aren't any design files yet, but as soon as I've made any, I'll put them on GitHub and add a link to the repository here. Just follow this project, and you'll get the update in your feed.