Right. So the person who was going to help me get back on track with my cloning was the one that got raided. He's not big on coming over right now, understandably, until he know where his legal status ends up. So I went to him.
I got the routine he uses, and I have modified it very slightly, incorporating my procedural methods. Then I went home and did it. I took 12 clones. Four each of White Widow, Grape Kool-Aid, and Arjan's Haze #1. I didn't take a huge lot of photos. Just some to illustrate specific things. I need a third hand for the camera.
Disclaimer and warning: I'm not a pro. I used a similar method in the past with great success but it isn't working well now. I am trying a reset of my procedures. We will see if it works well. Also I may get rather wordy. Sorry.
So I'll start with what I used:
The orange stuff in the little 3oz plastic cup is the Rootech gel. It is supposed to be on it's side. I'll get to that. Also that's a used razor blade. I didn't want to take out a new clean one just for a photo.
I use Rootech rooting hormone gel. I am also using GH RapidStart. Store both in the fridge. There is a pair of clean Fiskars sewing scissors. Great for trimming buds. I'll use them to trim leaves on my cuttings. Bottom right are craft sticks, popularly referred to as popsicle sticks. You can get like 100 for $1.00 or something like that at a lot of $1 stores. I buy single-edged razor blades at HD in packs of 100.
Cleanliness is very useful when cloning. Until they have a working vascular system that includes roots they are vulnerable to attack and every cut is a potential point of entry. I use a new razor for all the cuttings from a single plant, but never for another plant. That way if by chance one of my girls gets a virus, I don't pass it to the next plant by reusing a razor. It also has the side effect of preventing it from being used for more than a few cuts. I would prefer to use a new blade for every cut, but that would get really expensive.
Never dip directly into the container the gel comes in. You introduce contaminants that way. I use the craft sticks like butter knives to scoop some of the rooting gel from the container and put it in the 3oz cup. I use a clean stick every time. They
are that cheap. I use the stick to place the gel in a line from top edge to bottom. It makes it easier to get it on the sides of the stem, and the gel won't really slump out. I stays put pretty well. Just remember not to set the cup down upright but always on the side, so the gel won't slide to the bottom of the cup.
I mixed up 1 gallon of aged/bubbled water from my res with 1 teaspoon of the RapidStart and 1 teaspoon of Hygrozyme (not shown). I pH'ed it to a target of 5.9 (actual: 5.90 @ 20.9). I put some of this into a clean glazed ceramic mug. Any clean cup will work.
One other bit of prep: I opened a fresh new Rapid Rooter tray with coco plugs. I put all but 12 of the plugs in a gallon freezer ziploc bag. They'll keep for later in the back of the fridge. I took the remaining 12 plugs and reamed each with the little screwdriver I use for this. It's an adjusting screwdriver for a ppm meter I usually buy so I have like 3 of them, but you could use a chopstick instead. The point is to prevent bent stems by reaming the existing hole a little bigger and a little longer. Not much. Just enough to prevent the stem from getting hung up. I forget to ream them now and then, and I always end up jamming and bending the stem. Now we are ready.
Using a new razor blade, I cut bits off of a healthy plant. I want branch ends, not too spindly. I cut about 5" off and immediately put the cutting into the mug I filled earlier. I get all the cuttings from one plant, then let them sit in the mug for about 10 minutes.
Then I put them into plugs. First I took a plug and plunged it into the rest of that gallon I mixed up. I did a gentle squeeze and release a couple times to soak it up and then squeezed most of the liquid out. I left them still quite moist, but not drippy. Maybe half wrung out I guess.
One at a time I took each cutting out of the mug and quickly stripped all but the top two open leaves off the stem with the razor. Then i made a new cut, preferably through the center of a node, leaving about a 4" cutting. I immediately put the cut end into the gel for a second, then abraded the stem near the end with the razor. Not too much, but it's an underlayer that produces callus and root so exposing a bit more to the rooting hormone is good. Then back in the gel, this time rolled up the stem:
Never mind the droopy leaves - I had gotten that cutting wet already. Normally I would keep the leaves dry. Once the end is coated in gel, I gently inserted it into one of the plugs. I'm trying not to remove any more gel than I have to. Afterwards, there is a good gap all around the stem:
So I pinch off a bit from the outer edge of the plug:
And stick it in the hole beside the stem. I pick the side that will help stand the cutting up straighter. In this next pic, I circled the bit I crammed in - you can see it just inside the red line:
I then cut off about half the length of each finger on each leaf with the Fiskars. I also made sure I cut the leaf opening up at the tip. Don't cut the tip itself (apical meristem) or the cutting will fail, but I like to nip a little off the leaf. That way when I see a little leaf unfolding later and there's nothing missing I know it has actually grown and is nearly ready. The idea is that the plant will not do much above the surface until it has had a chance to get callus and minimal roots going. If you see growth, we have success below. Usually anyway.
Next, I plunged the entire plug and plant into the remainder of the gallon I mixed up. I don't want to squeeze and release this time because I want the gel to stay where it is and not get washed out (thus the reason I soaked the plug before putting the cutting in). I hold the entire cutting under the surface for about 10 seconds, then take it out and shake the water off gently.
Then I place them in the tray. I like to avoid the outside edge spots in the tray because the leaves that are stuck touching the dome wall will mold and die:
Mist the inside of the dome lightly with distilled water. Put the dome on and keep them in the upper 70's and humid inside. Close the vents. You should always see a little condensation on the inside of the dome at this stage. After a week or two I should see the stem thicken where it goes into the plug. When I see this, they need to come out of the dome into the open air, but slowly in stages. First just open the vent some, then after a few days all the way, then take the dome off a few days after that. All this time they get weak light. The idea is to slow down respiration until the roots are established. When the plugs get dry-ish and start to lighten up in color (almost brown-paper-bag color) I will use the remainder of that gallon to water them, using a turkey baster.
So that's what I did this time. In a week to three they should have roots coming out of the plug. Hopefully in two weeks or less. I guess I'll find out soon enough.
At least now you are in complete compliance with the law! I feel for you, but now it should be full steam ahead 
