One problem I've had with Peat is getting it wet enough to accept water, and if it's not, water will pool up on it as you describe. Perhaps you have a bag of REALLY dry peat?
What I do now is fluff it up in a large black trash bag, dump in a gallon or two of water, and let it sit in the sun for a few days. That always seems to work for me, and the peat acts like a sponge after that.
I can't see why you couldn't do that with your prepared mix.
dangit
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