Hi Cat and welcome to NGA!

Personally I don't use rooting hormone. That said, in all my years of experience I have found that rooting cuttings in the same soil as the donor plant roots faster with less casualties than new soil. If that's not possible I will water the donor plant and collect the water that drips from it and use it to water new soil I'm using.

Here is what's going on. Roots actually change the chemistry of the soil they are growing in. By rooting plants in the same soil or using water collected from the donor soil, the cutting is less stressed because the chemistry says 'home'.

A "tea" extracted from willow twigs is often suggested as a stimulant - I have never tried it.

I never use it.

Hi & welcome! Sounds like a fun plan!

Most house plants propagate so easily with no effort beyond the mechanics. That is how they get around for sale, aside from a few that are sold as seedlings like pots of clumps of baby palm sprouts. There is a house plant forum here, and a propagation forum, if you develop a specific question in those areas.
https://garden.org/forums/view...
https://garden.org/forums/view...

I don't know what veggies one might encounter that are propagated by cuttings. Aren't most cultivated by sprouting seeds? Or, in the case of bulbs (onions) and tubers (potatoes,) cultivated by burying offsets? Aside from that basic personal curiosity, I'm completely unable to give any advice about growing anything in CA.
https://garden.org/forums/view...
https://garden.org/forums/view...

When it comes to your Aloe, an offset would imply that it already has roots. Some grow more like a tree, making side branches, and some make true offsets,(babies,) with roots.
https://garden.org/forums/view...

The primary thing I do prophylactically to prevent pest and disease is to compost. Any plant can only be as good as the soil in which it is growing! A healthy plant is exponentially less likely to be the fatal victim of some kind of attack of pest or disease.
https://permaculturenews.org/2...

Best luck out there!

My question was answered.

Awesome!

I've used rooting hormone for years. AFAIK, it works well (never done a side-by-side comparison). But so long as it seems to work (and I don't run out of the stuff - a small bottle goes a long way), I'll keep using it. I think all it is is willow bark extract. But that's what works...