Earthworms are not a major part of the composting process and the Red wigglers need an environment much more moist than you want your compost bin.

so should I have a compost bin, a worm bin or try an in between? By that I mean finish some copost, add worms and then keep it moist and just add kitchen scraps.

Part of my reason for composting is that it seems like a better way to get rid of garbage than sending it to the landfill and worms seem like natural garbage desposers.

I dont need a lot of finished product I mainly want to make compost tea instead of liquid fertilzers for my container plants.

You may want to research Vermicomposting (composting with worms) then. For a compost pile worms are not a significant part of the process, at the beginning, during, or at the end, even if some people may see earthworms in their compost when it is finished. For earthworms to get into compost it would have to be too moist for the bacteria you want working on it to work on it, because earthworms need a fairly moist environment to exist.

A compost bin and a worm bin are two different things. Many of us have both. What you are suggesting sounds like some sort of hybrid and it won't work for a variety of reasons.

If you are going to spend the money for a pound of worms, you probably want to give them the best environment for survival, which is not a bed of compost. See the vermicomposting forum (starting with the FAQs) for info on how to set up a bin, and then search it for 'Kelly Slocum' (former expert poster) for the very best info on worm care. You'll also find info and photos of the types of worm species (usually red wigglers) that are used for worm bins.

I have a compost bin with a solid plastic bottom on a large patch of aspalt because that's the space I have available. There are no worms in my bin during the hot phase because it's too hot for them. But during the cold phase, I have quite a few worms in the bins. I don't know exactly how they get there, but somehow they manage. I do know that they can slip through extremely small spaces, like fine netting. So I think you also will have some worms find their way into your compost bins if it is cool and moist enough.

My bin has no bottom and is in a corner of my lawn. I won't add worms as I am building my pile but after the initial hot stages, the first 2-3 weeks, I will add worms if I find them else where. I am lucky to have gotten to a point were I generally have a bin cooking while I have a very big pile sitting next to it aging. If I find large worms in the aging pile I always add them to the still cooking pile.

Good Luck...

They will show up.
Will they be the right type?
If they show up to enjoy your compost, they will be the right kind.
No foolin.
ialbtc

Like the others have said above, if you want to do worms, try vermiculture. Composting is different. Hot compost will typically kill the worms and the moisture content will not be right for the worms. The worms that typically show up in compost show up after it has cooled down and is finishing/finished. They are the ones coming up out of the lawn. They don't do much to help the compost itself, they are there for the food that it provides. Worms always show up in my bin when it is almost finished, which is a nice indicator now that I think about it. If they don't show up to your pile on there own when it is almost finished, grab some out of the garden or the lawn when it rains and throw them in there not to help the compost but to give them a huge food supply which causes them to start mating like crazy = larger worm population goes to where ever you are spreading the compost.