Hugels are interesting… 5000 years ago in China they were doing beds like this and they are quite common now in Europe permaculture gardening.
rtj211, with fruit tree pruning and other things you mentioned it works great.
With similar climate as you i can tell you they work, but there are challenges to grow veggies on them.
I see them more as tree planting feautures, perennial plant ecosystems, like strawberries, and fruit bushes they work really well.
Squash and pumpkinks like them a lot, that’s true.
Usualy they get dry on top, as they are steep, unless they are head hig and around 2m wide. I usualy make them more flat and smaller for veggie garden.
Lots of rodents life in them.
More challenges that don’t come to mind right now.
So for veggies i don’t really like them. I prefer slightly raised beds made with top soil from path on top of growing area and then compost on top.