Speak to me of worm bins

So it's the time of year where I need to start thinking about next year's garden. And that includes considering soil augmentation. The soil at Fwigf is pretty good, however I only have one small plot. This means I'm not able to engage in any true crop rotation without doing a lot of session planting. And even then? I am going to wear down my soil in a few years. Unless I start supplementing.

Now, Fwigf is an organic practices only garden. This means I can't go and pick up a container of synthetic fertilizer, I need to get manure or compost. I don't know if you've looked at price comparisons, but covering a 400sqft area with enough manure and/or compost to make a difference in soil quality does get kind of pricey. And I am time rich but cash poor.

The obvious answer is to start a compost pile/bin. Or this would be the obvious answer if I didn't have a pair of inquisitive jerks who insist that EVERYTHING is either food or something to knock over then roll in. I think my dogs are really goats in disguise. Maybe a cross between goats and something larger, like say an elephant, given the noise the fuzzy heathens make going up and down stairs. But I digress. A compost bin/pile is not something that is feasible given my current space/living situation.

Which leads me to researching alternatives. In my travels (read: finding blogs and wiki articles through google) I've come across the idea of using worm casings. They are apparently a low nitrogen growth enhancer. A little goes a long way apparently, and they have the added benefit of being organic which means I can use them at Fwigf.

They are also hella expensive to buy. Probably because worms are small and worm casings are basically worm poop. Small critters produce small poop (the exceptions being human babies and puppies, both of which contain a little known quirk of anatomy which allows them to pull poop from sector Fecal Five, the poop dimension).

The good news is I can in fact raise worms and harvest worm casings at home. For pretty cheap since I'd have to feed them things like table scraps and coffee grinds. You know, things I'm currently throwing out because my Heathens won't let me have nice things like a compost pile/bin.

I have never raised worms however and have no idea where to start. Should I just go dig up a bunch of earthworms? Perhaps enlist friends with toddlers and make use of the slave labor to dig worms up offer free babysitting? What do I need to start? Is this a thing I should even consider? Anyone actually try this?