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So I have a metaphorical hard-on for the West Slavs who inhabited the area between the Elbe and the Oder. And I want to create an enduring ethnically and linguistically Slavic state for them.

The problem that gets pointed out the most is that the Wends had a much lower populaton density compared to the Germans.

One of the biggest reasons for this was that they preferred to practice agriculture on sandy soil, which had a poor yield.

By contrast, the Germans used swampy areas, which were difficult to set up for agriculture, but yielded larger crops once you managed to get things rolling.

So. What is required for the Polabian Slavs to adopt German agricultural techniques?

Moreover, if they DO manage to utilize areas that were IOTL inundated with Germans, will they be capable of achieving a population density sufficient enough to remain independent and Slavic?
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