Marilyn recalled some childhood memories of growing up in the Santa Ana Canyon and helping her father, Albert Yorba, plant the very special “sweetheart” watermelon seeds on their ranch. Below she describes how the seeds were planted, and also what food crops were grown on the property.

The lead “man” of the planting crew began with digging a small hole, a series of holes, and dropping three seeds into each hole. No. 2 planter covered over the seeds with exactly the right amount of dirt (carefully monitored by Albert). No. 3 had the important task of placing the protective hot cap over each tiny seedbed. Crisp white paper cones like inverted coffee filters were fitted into a metal cone with a handle on it. The cone was used to push the hot cap firmly into the soil so the base was anchored well. Then the cone was lifted leaving a gleaming white tent over each planting. When all was completed, we, sweaty and grimy, admired our handiwork, row upon row of gleaming white hot caps covering the field, holding in the moisture that still remained in the soil. Each plant nourished by the dark brown rich loam, wet by the condensation rising from the earth as a result of the sun's warmth, cooled by balmy nights till they began to germinate. And when the tiny plants began to sprout the crew returned to break open the top of each cone and tear away the remains of the cone when the strong young plants fully engulfed the cone. And grow they did, soon covering the dirt with vines which then flowered and finally formed the small and round pale green fruit that had delicious red nectar inside that could be eaten right down to the rind!

Tomatoes were also planted in this manner. The small cove formed by Horseshoe Bend must have been an ideal location for the crops that grew there: corn, cantaloupes (or mushmelons as A.J. {Albert} called them) all gave fruits of [1] especially delicious sweetness - or was it only in my memory? From Horseshoe Bend also came the stacks of bee hives, flavored by the sage and other native plants covering the hills.

Beyond the bend, rising higher “up in the back”, were the fields where hay and corn grew. At times a few head of cattle. Then, finally mandarins and Valencia Oranges became the resident crops. Today (referring to 1998) there is a knoll on the north side of Yorba Linda Blvd., and west of Yorba Ranch Road; that knoll on the north side of our ranch from which we could gaze at far off Catalina Island and the Ocean in long ago smog-free days. We called that rise “fingertip hill” because Grandpa Prudencio [Yorba, Albert's father] had lost the tip of his finger there while working with a harrow. It would have been a great street name for the later subdivision developers to use because it had a real story behind it! [2]