Hugel vs. Wicking bed in subtropics with 7 month dry season?

I'm in south FL. We have a 5 month wet season and a 7 month dry season. In my backyard, I have hugelkulture beds and drip irrigation. I want to put some beds in the front where I don't have a spigot for irrigation. I plan on planting sunchokes, walking onions, and some other things. Once the beds get too much shade from surrounding fruit trees, I will switch to ginger and other shade tolerating plants.

I don't want to be out there with a watering can every day, so I'd like to use either hugelkulture or wicking beds to limit my need to irrigate. From what I can tell, though, the wood in a hugel bed won't last long in my climate. So the first year I need to water it like regular. The second year half as much. And then after that none at all. But it won't be long until the wood is gone. I am okay removing the soil and adding wood again; obviously a big disturbance to the soil biology. The other idea is a wicking bed. I think I would just need to maybe put in extra drainage holes to not let it get waterlogged over the wet season.

Any thoughts/insights? Thanks

We usually only get six months without rain here, but so far, I've had the most success with  (as in growing direct seeded winter squash and tomatoes without any watering)

- sunken hugels

- a variation of the hugel but temporary - like one to three years.   We build it with small branches, garden waste, fruit tree branches, and yard waste on the bottom over the summer.  Then leaves as they fall, then used bedding and old hay slowly through the winter so that the winter rain can soak into each layer.  Build it too fast and we get dry spots. Straw for the top layer about a month before the rains and frost ends, and direct seed into that.  The heat from the compost protects the seedlings from the frost and allowing the roots to get deep enough before the top dries out.

Biggest problem is once the top mulch dries,  it won't allow new moisture in, neither dew nor irrigation.   It's entirely reliant on the internal moisture and the plants ability to capture dew through the leaves, so Mediterranean plants are best.

But not a full hugel nor as long lasting.   We usually use it for a year or two then get the tractor to destroy it into soil.  We like doing this near fruit trees.

r ranson wrote:We usually only get six months without rain here, but so far, I've had the most success with  (as in growing direct seeded winter squash and tomatoes without any watering)

- sunken hugels

- a variation of the hugel but temporary - like one to three years.   We build it with small branches, garden waste, fruit tree branches, and yard waste on the bottom over the summer.  Then leaves as they fall, then used bedding and old hay slowly through the winter so that the winter rain can soak into each layer.  Build it too fast and we get dry spots. Straw for the top layer about a month before the rains and frost ends, and direct seed into that.  The heat from the compost protects the seedlings from the frost and allowing the roots to get deep enough before the top dries out.

Biggest problem is once the top mulch dries,  it won't allow new moisture in, neither dew nor irrigation.   It's entirely reliant on the internal moisture and the plants ability to capture dew through the leaves, so Mediterranean plants are best.

But not a full hugel nor as long lasting.   We usually use it for a year or two then get the tractor to destroy it into soil.  We like doing this near fruit trees.

Interesting idea. I need to wrap my head around applicability to my climate (e.g., no frost, rainy summer, not winter). I think it would work just fine for winter season plants given the timing. But I'm looking to plant perennials. Should still work, but just for a year or two. So then I need to consider - go with an approach like this and refresh the wood periodically? Or go with a wicking bed? A pro of wicking beds is no root knot nematodes. A con is there is nothing under the soil decomposing, improving the soil over time.