diff --git a/gardener/gardener-poll.sh b/gardener/gardener-poll.sh
index 43aa8db..c218ce1 100755
--- a/gardener/gardener-poll.sh
+++ b/gardener/gardener-poll.sh
@@ -3,8 +3,14 @@
 # gardener-poll.sh — Cron wrapper for the gardener agent
 #
 # Cron: daily (or 2x/day). Handles lock management, escalation reply
-# injection for dev sessions, and files an action issue for backlog
-# grooming via formulas/run-gardener.toml (picked up by action-agent).
+# injection, and delegates backlog grooming to gardener-agent.sh.
+#
+# Grooming (delegated to gardener-agent.sh):
+#   - Duplicate titles / overlapping scope
+#   - Missing acceptance criteria
+#   - Stale issues (no activity > 14 days)
+#   - Blockers starving the factory
+#   - Tech-debt promotion / dust bundling
 # =============================================================================
 set -euo pipefail
 
@@ -36,6 +42,12 @@ trap 'rm -f "$LOCK_FILE"' EXIT
 
 log "--- Gardener poll start ---"
 
+# Gitea labels API requires []int64 — look up the "backlog" label ID once
+# Falls back to the known Codeberg repo ID if the API call fails
+BACKLOG_LABEL_ID=$(codeberg_api GET "/labels" 2>/dev/null \
+  | jq -r '.[] | select(.name == "backlog") | .id' 2>/dev/null || true)
+BACKLOG_LABEL_ID="${BACKLOG_LABEL_ID:-1300815}"
+
 # ── Check for escalation replies from Matrix ──────────────────────────────
 ESCALATION_REPLY=""
 if [ -s /tmp/gardener-escalation-reply ]; then
@@ -74,7 +86,7 @@ if [ -s /tmp/gardener-escalation-reply ]; then
     log "All escalation entries were stale — discarded"
   fi
 fi
-# ESCALATION_REPLY is used below when constructing the action issue body
+export ESCALATION_REPLY
 
 # ── Inject human replies into needs_human dev sessions (backup to supervisor) ─
 HUMAN_REPLY_FILE="/tmp/dev-escalation-reply"
@@ -118,38 +130,9 @@ Instructions:
   break  # only one reply to deliver
 done
 
-# ── Backlog grooming (file action issue for run-gardener formula) ─────────
-# shellcheck source=../lib/file-action-issue.sh
-source "$FACTORY_ROOT/lib/file-action-issue.sh"
+# ── Backlog grooming (delegated to gardener-agent.sh) ────────────────────
+log "Invoking gardener-agent.sh for backlog grooming"
+bash "$SCRIPT_DIR/gardener-agent.sh" "${1:-}" || log "WARNING: gardener-agent.sh exited with error"
 
-ESCALATION_CONTEXT=""
-if [ -n "${ESCALATION_REPLY:-}" ]; then
-  ESCALATION_CONTEXT="
-
-## Pending escalation replies
-
-Human responses to previous gardener escalations. Process these FIRST.
-Format: '1a 2c 3b' means question 1→option (a), 2→option (c), 3→option (b).
-
-${ESCALATION_REPLY}"
-fi
-
-_DESCRIPTION="Periodic gardener housekeeping run. The action-agent reads \`formulas/run-gardener.toml\`
-and executes the steps: preflight, grooming, blocked-review,
-AGENTS.md update, and commit-and-pr.${ESCALATION_CONTEXT}"
-
-ISSUE_BODY=$(build_formula_issue_body "run-gardener" "opus" "$_DESCRIPTION" "gardener-poll.sh")
-
-_rc=0
-file_action_issue "run-gardener" "action: run-gardener — periodic housekeeping" "$ISSUE_BODY" || _rc=$?
-case "$_rc" in
-  0) log "Filed action issue #${FILED_ISSUE_NUM} for run-gardener formula"
-     matrix_send "gardener" "Filed action #${FILED_ISSUE_NUM}: run-gardener — periodic housekeeping" 2>/dev/null || true
-     ;;
-  1) log "Open run-gardener action issue already exists — skipping" ;;
-  2) log "ERROR: 'action' label not found — cannot file gardener issue" ;;
-  4) log "ERROR: issue body contains potential secrets — skipping" ;;
-  *) log "WARNING: failed to create action issue for run-gardener (rc=$_rc)" ;;
-esac
 
 log "--- Gardener poll done ---"
diff --git a/gardener/gardener-run.sh b/gardener/gardener-run.sh
index 5410ba9..8ee6493 100755
--- a/gardener/gardener-run.sh
+++ b/gardener/gardener-run.sh
@@ -45,11 +45,16 @@ fi
 log "--- Gardener run start ---"
 
 # ── File action issue for run-gardener formula ────────────────────────────
-_DESCRIPTION="Periodic gardener housekeeping run. The action-agent reads \`formulas/run-gardener.toml\`
-and executes the steps: preflight, grooming, blocked-review,
-AGENTS.md update, and commit-and-pr."
+ISSUE_BODY="---
+formula: run-gardener
+model: opus
+---
 
-ISSUE_BODY=$(build_formula_issue_body "run-gardener" "opus" "$_DESCRIPTION" "gardener-run.sh")
+Periodic gardener housekeeping run. The action-agent reads \`formulas/run-gardener.toml\`
+and executes the steps: preflight, grooming, blocked-review,
+AGENTS.md update, and commit-and-pr.
+
+Filed automatically by \`gardener-run.sh\`."
 
 _rc=0
 file_action_issue "run-gardener" "action: run-gardener — periodic housekeeping" "$ISSUE_BODY" || _rc=$?
diff --git a/lib/file-action-issue.sh b/lib/file-action-issue.sh
index 2568fa2..f9458b5 100644
--- a/lib/file-action-issue.sh
+++ b/lib/file-action-issue.sh
@@ -4,9 +4,6 @@
 # Usage: source this file, then call file_action_issue.
 # Requires: codeberg_api() from lib/env.sh, jq, lib/secret-scan.sh
 #
-# build_formula_issue_body <formula_name> <model> <description> <source_script>
-#   Outputs a standard issue body with TOML frontmatter to stdout.
-#
 # file_action_issue <formula_name> <title> <body>
 #   Sets FILED_ISSUE_NUM on success.
 #   Returns: 0=created, 1=duplicate exists, 2=label not found, 3=API error, 4=secrets detected
@@ -15,15 +12,6 @@
 # shellcheck source=secret-scan.sh
 source "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/secret-scan.sh"
 
-# build_formula_issue_body <formula_name> <model> <description> <source_script>
-#   Builds a standard issue body with TOML frontmatter for formula-driven action issues.
-#   Outputs the body to stdout.
-build_formula_issue_body() {
-  local formula_name="$1" model="$2" description="$3" source_script="$4"
-  printf -- '---\nformula: %s\nmodel: %s\n---\n\n%s\n\nFiled automatically by `%s`.' \
-    "$formula_name" "$model" "$description" "$source_script"
-}
-
 file_action_issue() {
   local formula_name="$1" title="$2" body="$3"
   FILED_ISSUE_NUM=""