I've seen this sort of strange growth on tomatoes before. I read a line
or two in a book that seemed to suggest tangentally that over
fertilization of some kind might be responsible for this. However, I
want some confirmation because it was very anecdotal.

I have 6 Early Girl tomato plants growing where I usually have very good
luck. They are planted in soil that was mixed with a considerable amount
of my own compost do a depth of nearly 2 feet. However, the plants
aren't doing terribly well, the the corkscrew-like twisting has me
wondering if I did something wrong. Does anyone know what causes this
unusual growth pattern? I don't usually get it.

Dan